Happy New Year!
There are many exciting things on the horizon in 2012 for me– finishing my PhD, a new job, a new city, and once I graduate I’ll allow myself to start making new friends again! (I imposed a a “no new friends rule” in the fall of 2010 so I could be more productive at work. Amazingly, I stuck to it.) In the next few months, I’ll also be ending this blog. Leaving grad school and Boston will be sad, but I’m excited about new beginnings too!
I have so many changes on the horizon that I don’t know if I need to make any resolutions in order to see any big differences in my life this year. However, if you’re looking to make resolutions, here are two tools to help you out:
(1) GymPact. I talked about GymPact a few months ago on the blog, but the program has changed radically since then. You can use the GymPact iPhone app to monitor your gym progress at any gym you want. Long story short, you put up some cash and make a commitment to go to the gym x times per week. If you don’t go to the gym as many times as you say you will, you forfeit the money. If you do go, you get a small cash bonus. Learn more here.
(2) Stikk. This is another commitment contract program similar to GymPact. With Stickk, however, you can set any goal you want– it doesn’t have to be fitness-related. Again, you put up some money and if you don’t meet your goal, your money goes to a charity you would support, an anti-charity (like the Santorum campaign), or to a friend (or enemy, I suppose). You can be honest and verify goal completion yourself, or set a proxy to verify that you stuck to your commitment.
Both of these programs are based on the science of behavioral decision making, which you may have read about in books like Nudge. If you’re as a cheap as I am, the financial incentive is enough to keep your resolution. And if you’re as much of a hater as I am, the idea that someone you hate could benefit from your failure is icing on the cake.
Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year. I hope you keep all of your resolutions!
-A
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I just read a post about creating goals instead of resolutions and it really appealed to me. did u set up your 2012 goals already?
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Yes, just like last year I will have to find more ways to cut expenses and work harder to avoid laying off one or two of my employees. Expenses like insurance and energy costs continue to grow out of control, profit margins on products are dwindling, while income continues to decline heading into 2012.
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