Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life

by Gretchen Rubin

One flashy kind of commitment device is the “nuclear option.” A friend who enjoys experimenting with strategies of personal productivity used this approach to quit drinking for sixty days. He gave his assistant a stamped, addressed envelope with a check he’d written to an “anti-charity,” an organization whose policies he passionately opposes, with the instruction to mail the check if he had a drink before the time was up. “Did it work?” I asked. “Absolutely. I’d raised the stakes, plus I’d tied drinking to my core values. There’s no way I’d send a check to that hateful group. It worked so well,” he added, “that my mother did it too. If she had a drink before her time was up, she had to give money to her grandsons to buy video games. She considers that a terrible waste of money.” “Did she stick to it?” “Yes, and it was funny to hear my nephews beg her, ‘Come on, Grandma! Have a glass of wine. You deserve it!’ ”