Commitment Devices
Deliberately restricting your own future options — locked savings, a public deadline, a deleted app — because you know your future self will not agree with your present self.
An everyday example
Sending the budget to a colleague with authority to refuse over-spends; setting up a savings account with a withdrawal penalty.
What it can cost you
None as a tool; the risk is being sold devices that lock you in for someone else's benefit.
Warning signs
- I keep making the same mistake with full knowledge.
- I rely on willpower in the moment.
One thing to do
Build your own: for any recurring weakness, write the device that removes the choice at the moment of weakness.
Is this happening to you right now?
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