Temptation bundling: How to stop procrastinating forever

AN INGENIOUS idea has shown that linking guilty pleasures, such as The Hunger Games books, with behaviour that takes effort can solve all our willpower problems.

How to stop procrastinating forever

ARE you a dedicated procrastinator? No, me neither. I definitely didn’t have a coffee and some chocolate, check my email and look at Facebook before I started writing this.

Think how much time you could save if you didn’t bother with those unproductive, time-wasting activities.

Behavioural economist Katy Milkman coined the phrase “temptation bundling”, and it’s gaining increasing popularity among psychologists, academics and high-achievers.

The assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School came up with the idea after repeatedly finding herself too exhausted to work out after a hard day at work.

“I struggle at the end of a long day to get myself to the gym even though I know I should go,” she told the Freakonomics Radio Podcast. “And at the end of a long day I also struggle with the desire to watch my favourite TV shows instead of getting work done.

“I actually realised that those two temptations, those two struggles I face, could be combined to solve both problems.”

The behavioural economist came up with the following: “If I only allowed myself to watch my favourite TV shows while exercising at the gym I’d stop wasting time at home on useless television and I’d start craving trips to the gym.”

She found herself enjoying both more when combined — time flew at the gym and she didn’t feel guilty watching the shows.

The concept is that you combine an instantly gratifying ‘want’ activity with a ‘should’ behaviour that provides long-term benefits, but requires willpower. The guilty pleasure will pull you into the second type of behaviour.

In a research paper written with Kevin Volpp and Julia Minson, Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym, Milkman tested whether tempting audiobooks would make gym-goers visit more.

The results were compelling. Participants with gym-only access to the books went 50 per cent more often over nine weeks, and even said they would pay for the restricted privilege — opening up a realm of possibility for mass-marketed devices or apps.

Katy Milkman came up with the idea for temptation after bundling gym trips with watching her favourite TV shows.

The ingenious idea can work with any two complementary behaviours, and many of us probably already use it in some way. The Wharton School researchers suggest these examples:

● If you crave a certain type of junk food (for example, doughnuts or cheeseburgers) and have a difficult uncle you should spend more time with, prevent overindulging and increase your visits by allowing yourself the food only when bonding with him.

● If you overindulge in expensive lattes and forget to reply to emails, only allow yourself a latte when clearing your inbox.

● If you spend too much on pedicures and avoid dreaded assignments, only visit the salon while planning or reading.

● If you could listen to music for hours but dislike household chores, only put on your headphones while cleaning the house.

“Temptation bundling can simultaneously solve two problems at once in many different situations,” Milkman said.

Surely that’s enough to make it worth a try.