Commitment device
-
officialhogi
It is quite frustrating that we are tempted to procrastinate until the last moment. It usually happens in highschool. You received an assignment and you will wait until the last week before the deadline. Frustrating as it is, you still attempt to finish it within the week. So, how can we avoid the temptation of procrastination?
Sometimes it’s not about making good habits easy and more about making bad habits harder. A method described in the book atomic habits called Commitment device might help you make bad habits harder.
A commitment device is a choice you make in the present that controls your actions in the future. By restricting your bad habits in the present, you make it harder to bail out the activities that you have to do.
It can be used in many ways and to elaborate this method, we will illustrate the tool in some scenarios;
#1 Scenario
Let’s say you want to work every day on your assignment [Good Habit] for 2 hours but you get distracted by your phone [Bad habit].
A way to focus on your assignment is to lock your phone in a case with a timer. [Commitment Device]
This will prevent you from looking at your phone.
#2 Scenario
Let’s say you want to lose weight and stop overeating [Bad Habit].
You overeat, not because you want to, but because you have easy access to food.
A way to prevent overeating is by limiting the groceries to small individual packages rather than purchasing in bulk [Commitment Device].
Conclusion
The key takeaway is that you have to create friction to prevent you from falling victim to a bad habit. If you acknowledge a certain habit as bad. You can make it harder to start. Create friction through the commitment devices and you will no longer be tempted to start.