Carrot or stickK?

Last month I wrote about how only 12% of us are able to maintain our new years resolutions and how Professor Richard Wiseman suggests defining exactly what you will do, where you will do it and when you’ll do it as key to whether you are successful or not.

Now economists Ian Ayres and Dean Karlan have taken it a step further by launching a new website StickK.com. The theory is that good old-fashioned financial incentives are the most effective tool for motivating people to meet their goals, in this case it’s the risk of losing substantial amounts of money if you fail. StickK.com is a free to join website where you choose your goal, choose your stake and even select who you want as a third-party referee to rule on whether you have succeeded or failed.

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What I will do, where I’ll do it and when

A visit to the gym today reminded me just how challenging it can be to stick to new years resolutions. Just a few months ago it would only have been me and a few others in an otherwise deserted gym on a Sunday morning, but because it’s January there was probably ten times that amount this morning.

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What happened?

It’s been over 6 months since I last wrote on this blog so I don’t blame you for asking ‘what happened?’. I guess the simple answer is that I lost motivation but it’s far harder to explain why, although I will try by describing the story so far (and where I go from here).

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Mystery Shopping

I signed up with GAPbuster to become a mystery shopper. The registration process was quick and easy with a quick questionaire to fill in and then I was ready to pick my assignments. After a bit of searching I managed to find an assignment for our local Liquid nightclub which would pay £30 just for going out for the evening!!

However it’s not quite as simple as it would seem as I would have to pay for entrance and at least one drink once inside. A quick visit to Liquids website and I found a voucher for free entry to save myself a couple of pounds. However a big night out would easily end up costing me far more than the £30 I was earning so I opted for a few drinks at home before heading out. This meant that I was able to keep my total spending on drinks to £12 which meant I ended the night £18 up and had a great night too!

Exam on Tuesday

I have an exam on Tuesday which has meant I have spent all weekend at home studying :-( 

However the good news is that means I have spent no money all weekend!