Penalty system for motivation in combating procrastination
Veranika Vinichenka
2 replies
Hello everyone! One way to combat procrastination is by creating a system of rewards and penalties to motivate yourself. Rewards are clear, but what about penalties? How do you feel about this in terms of motivating anyone, including yourself?
Replies
![Jade Grimwood](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/7052123/283ab6f8-38e4-430d-ad32-7b52a28bb164.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=36&h=36&fit=crop)
Jade Grimwood@jade_grimwood
Oooh. Interesting question! What are you thinking in terms of a penalty? What would be an example?
Share
Implementing a penalty system to tackle procrastination can be quite effective, particularly for those of us more motivated by avoiding losses than by gaining rewards. For example, a friend of mine practices this: she has a box for money where she deposits each time she misses a deadline.
I personally believe that there should be a balance between rewards and penalties, as penalties seem like very short-term motivation to me.
P.S. I was sure that I was against this when reading your question, but while writing this post, I came to realize that sometimes I say, "I won't go to the restaurant before I finish this project." Yet, I believe it depends on the perspective you take:
"I won't go to the restaurant before I finish this project" - penalties
"I will go to the restaurant when I finish this project" - rewards