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Commitment Issues

The longer a commitment goes unfulfilled, the less likely it is to become fulfilled.


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Definition

Ethan's Third Law states that:

The longer a commitment goes unfulfilled, the less likely it is to become fulfilled.

The term "commitment" includes actions such as paying a debt, following up on a phone call, sending that awkward email, and so on.

The suspected psychological reason behind this is that making the initial commitment automatically checks the part of the box in the brain that the task is complete. This is similar to Gollwitzer's work in intentions (see When Intentions Go Public) (emphasis mine):

When other people take notice of one’s identity-relevant behavioral intentions, one’s performance of the intended behaviors is compromised. This effect occurs both when the intentions are experimenter supplied and when they are self-generated, and is observed in both immediate performance and performance measured over a period of 1 week. It does not emerge when people are not committed to the superordinate identity goal. Other people’s taking notice of one’s identity-relevant intentions apparently engenders a premature sense of completeness regarding the identity goal.

By making a public commitment (as opposed to a private, personal commitment), the others involved note the intention being made, and the committer notes the note of the intention, subliminally checking their imaginary to-do box.

As more time goes between the initial commitment and the present, actually completing the task makes it feel like it's being done a second time, incurring a perceived second cost. This is especially troublesome in regards to tasks involving money or intense effort, possibly causing it to be pushed out and thus propagating the issue further.

(All of this assumes a vacuum environment with no outside influence. Motivation spikes, external events, or pressure from others (e.g., a boss) can increase the likelihood at any moment.)


Prevention

This is an obvious issue, as the commitment isn't fulfilled. The only way to prevent this, or at least mitigate it, is to get the task done as soon as possible. That's it. Cancel all appointments. Turn off the phone and lock the doors and close the blinds and block distracting websites and get whatever needs to get done done. There's no secret formula. There's no magic pill. There's only the understanding and acceptance that if this doesn't get done now, it most likely never will.

But in case it's too difficult to muster up some willpower, there are other options that threaten punishment. These should not be utilized on a regular basis, as practicing the previous paragraph's suggestions is valuable.

First, coordinating a follow-up by a person who holds some power over the committer. This can be a boss, parent, etc. Explain to the situation to them and define the costs of not satisfying the requirements. This can be financial, social, or even physical. It must be significant enough that it cannot be experienced twice without major negative effects.

Second, using Beeminder or equivalent system. Similar to the first option, a cost is incurred if a goal isn't met. This relies on the honor system.


See Also