# Commitment
5 items
10 Minutes Technique
A task-start strategy where you commit to just 10 minutes of effort on a selected task, after which you can stop if you want. The psychological trick is that once you begin, you usually won't want to quit, overcoming initial resistance and procrastination.
Pre-Commitment Devices for Time Management
Strategy of making future decisions in advance to remove choice when willpower is low. Examples include scheduling gym with friend (social commitment), website blockers (technical commitment), or public declarations (reputation commitment). Removes decision point when motivation wavers.
Quarter-Hour Rule
Commitment to work on avoided task for minimum 15 minutes before allowing yourself to quit. Psychological threshold that usually leads to continued work due to momentum, while feeling manageable enough to start. Reduces procrastination by lowering perceived commitment required.
stickK
Commitment contract platform where users set goals with financial or social stakes, using behavioral economics and loss aversion to motivate goal achievement with community support and referee accountability.
Ulysses Pact
Commitment device strategy where you voluntarily create constraints in the present to bind your future behavior. Research shows success rates increase from 42.7% to 87.1% with stakes.