Commitments 2.0

Here’s something to make sure you keep your word

We have all at some point never stuck to our personal commitments. Whether it was last year’s New Year resolution to lose weight or this year’s to quit smoking. Whatever your commitments may be, there is now a new way to make sure you stuck to them.

stickK.com is a web 2.0 service that helps you stick to your personal commitments. StickK is designed to promote a healthy lifestyle for you by allowing you to create “Commitment Contracts”. This Commitment contract is the contract that will bind you into achieving a personal goal.

stickK was developed by Yale University economists who tested the effectiveness of Commitment Contract through extensive field research. We all need help to reach our goals – whether through incentives or support from others. Years of economic and behavioral research show that people who put stakes – either their money or their reputation – on the table are far more likely to actually achieve a goal they set for themselves.

I decided to put stickK to the test. I put a contract out on myself since I have been forever telling everyone that I need to lose weight but never really got around it. Hopefully stickK.com can help me.

The website is pretty easy n the eyes and kept lean. Registration is as simple as they come. Once you have registered yourself, head on over to the “Create a Commitment” button to get started. The Process has four Section.

1) GOAL:

What do you want to achieve and what time frame will you give yourself to achieve it?

2) STAKES:

As an added incentive to succeed, do you want to lay money on the line? If so, how much? If you fail, where do you want that money to go?

3) REFEREE:

Who do you want to designate to monitor your progress and confirm the truth of your reports to stickK.

4) SUPPORTERS:

Who do you want to have cheering you on?

Let me walk you through the progress……

GOAL: your goal can be absolutely anything you want to achieve! If you see it on the list, just click it. If not, create a Custom Goal and simply fill in the blanks! In my case, it was (not surprisingly) the first option on the list “Lose Weight”.

Then move on the DETAILS tab. You select a date or period of time by which you contractually agree to accomplish your goal. Certain goal are one-shot commitment – you pace yourself as you wish until the deadline. Other goals are on-going commitments – where you have to reach a target every week until the contract ends.

For health reasons, weight loss can be structured only as an ongoing commitment. Once you enter target weight and hoe many weeks you’re giving yourself to get there, the form will calculate your weekly weight loss requirement. At the end of every week, you must report whether you succeeded or failed to lose that amount. I was feeling pretty confident and decide on a 20lb weight in 20 weeks, at a required rate of at least 1lb per week.

STAKES: This next step is entirely optional. You choose your stakes: how much money you’re willing to risk, and where you want it to go, should you fail to keep your commitment. I decide to put $10 at stake per week which meant that I had to pay the $200 up front. Each week that I fail to lose the required 1lb, stickK will deduct $10 from my stickK account balance. At the end of 20 weeks, I get back whatever’s left in my account. They send what 1 lose to my designated recipient.

REFEREE: you designate someone you know and trust to be your referee. This person acts as an independent third party, monitoring your progress and verifying the accuracy of the reports you submit. Most people ask a friend or family member to be their Referee.

If you prefer, you can opt for the honour system, and go at it alone, without a Referee. Just remember that having someone to whom you’re accountable increases your chances of success!

SUPPORT: now designate other stickK users as your Supporters. They are your cheering section. Supporters post encouraging messages in your Commitment Journal, the place where you make daily entries on your progress toward achieving your goal. Hopefully you have a good bunch of supporters who want you to win the contract you put on your self and not lose your money.

As for my own commitment; I decide to donate to a charity so even if I am not physically lighter, at least my conscience is light. Oops, there goes half the motivation.