Module 3 · Motivation & getting unstuck · Emerging evidence

Temptation bundles and commitment devices

Pair a chore with something you enjoy, and make promises your future self can’t easily break.

7 min read · Level: Intermediate · Free — no account needed to read

The idea

Temptation bundling pairs something you should do with something you want to do: listening to a favourite podcast only while exercising, watching a show only while ironing. The treat pulls you toward the chore. In one study, gym attendance rose when people could only listen to gripping audiobooks at the gym; a larger follow-up found a smaller but real effect.

Commitment devices go further: they make a promise that is hard for your future self to break. Paying for a class in advance, arranging to meet a friend for a run, telling someone your deadline, or using an app that blocks distracting sites during study hours. You decide in a calm moment; the device holds you to it in a tempted one.

Both work by accepting that future-you will be tempted — and planning for it now rather than hoping for the best.

Why it works

Some tasks will never feel appealing on their own. Bundles and commitments give you practical reasons to follow through that don’t depend on how you feel on the day.

A real example

The situation

Leila keeps skipping her evening walk. She also loves a particular crime podcast.

What happened

She saves the podcast only for walks, and arranges to call her sister during the Friday walk. She walks five evenings the next week — partly because she wants to know what happens in the next episode.

The takeaway

A treat and a promise to someone else made the walk the easy choice.

Use this when you are…

• a task is important but dull
• you keep breaking promises to yourself
• you know exactly when temptation will strike

Common mistakes

• Allowing the treat without the task, which breaks the bundle.
• Making commitments so harsh they create dread.
• Using commitment devices for everything instead of the few things that matter most.

What the evidence says

Emerging evidence: Early or mixed research looks promising, but it is too soon to be confident. Treat it as worth trying, not proven.

Temptation bundling has a small evidence base, and later large studies found smaller effects than the first. Commitment devices have stronger support in some areas, such as saving and quitting smoking. Both are low-cost to try.

Where this comes from: Procrastination research; Implementation intentions research.

Fields that study this: Behavioural science.

Try it now: Make one bundle

1. Pick a task you keep putting off.
2. Pick a small treat you enjoy that could happen at the same time.
3. Promise yourself the treat only while doing the task.

Practise with a guided technique

• Temptation bundle — (2 min · Emerging evidence)
• If–then plan — (2 min · Strong evidence)

Questions to think about

• Which dull task could you pair with something you enjoy?
• Who could you make a small commitment to this week?

Try this today

Set up one temptation bundle for a task you usually avoid, and use it today.

Afterwards, ask yourself

Did the bundle or the commitment change whether you followed through?

Words in this lesson

• Temptation bundling — Pairing something you should do with something you enjoy, so the treat pulls you toward the task.
• Commitment device — An arrangement made in a calm moment that makes it harder for your future self to break a promise.