In another quarter, it’ll be a whole new year. And a fresh opportunity to work towards a better version of ourselves. New year, new me! There is a surge of activity across all sectors involving self-improvement – hobbies, fitness, and productivity & planners.
What is pre-commitment?
If you’ve ever bought planners with zeal and enthusiasm only to have them blank after the first three days of January, know that you are not alone. Behavioural economists call this surge of money-fuelled optimism “precommitment”. It’s when a person spends more money than usual on something they’re not fully committed to, hoping that the large sum they just spent would force their future self to stick.
After all, spending money on self-improvement is intoxicating. A brand new you! Surely there’s no better use for your money. One of the most popular examples of precommitment is paying annual gym fees (#relatable) at the start of every year, hoping that this will be the year you’ll finally be the most ripped version of yourself. This behaviour is so ubiquitous that economists at Berkeley did a study where they discovered that members with an annual pass paid more per class than those who opted for a monthly pass, i.e., they attended way fewer classes than those with a monthly pass. Another study discovered that pre-committing is the least effective nudge to behavioural change.
Precommitment teaches us that the most powerful motivations are internal, not external. Spending money on self-improvement rarely propels self-improvement.
Making Precommitment Work
This isn’t to say that committing is a bad thing. It’s just that behaviours are hard to change. Here’s what behavioural economists recommend to make things work:
Commit to your present self
The problem with precommitment is that we assume that our future self will be in the same state of mind and have the same circumstances as our present self. As a result, we overestimate our motivations and capabilities and spend on things/services we might be unable to stick to. Start simply – with planner printouts instead of planners. A monthly gym membership instead of an annual one. Set yourself up for success by starting slow. This will help you gauge yourself and allow for better decision-making in the future.
Make it easy to show up.
James Clear calls this step “make it obvious”. One of the ways I’ve found it easy to show up for anything fitness-related (something I’ve finally wrestled into a habit this year) is to sign up for instructor-led classes where you don’t have to figure out what to do. You show up. Clear recommends keeping what you want to master – in this case – the planner – front and centre on your desk versus hiding it in a drawer where it’s easy to ignore.
Stick to one system.
If you’re learning/trying something new, stick to one system. When you try to juggle between planners, notebooks, calendars and apps, things get confusing! I’ve often gotten so carried away with all the productivity tools that I download everything…but use nothing. Experts recommend sticking to one system, mastering the system and then adding new systems as we grow & get comfortable.
Reward yourself along the way.
Behavioural economists state that humans are hardwired for instant gratification. Our instinct is to seize what’s at hand rather than to wait. So perhaps it’s possible to optimise for this. Instead of giving yourself one big reward right at the start – you can have smaller rewards along the way. Filling out a notebook for a month: new pens. Completing a notebook: newer, fancier notebook. While having a vision is important, it might be more helpful if we didn’t look too far ahead.
Every day is a good day.
You can get your fresh start today. It’s a brand new week, after all. Every day is a good day when it comes to creating new habits!
Don’t mistake the car for the driver.
The danger of precommitment, economists say, is that we often falsely believe that the very act of spending money alone will be enough motivation for you to stay the course. It won’t. Cars can get you easily from point A to point B, but if you can’t drive them, they’re just metal. Money is the car, but you are the driver.
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