Hello guys,
I made a video and I forgot to mention the name of the thing :D

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I made a video about a method I use to get myself to do things I've been avoiding. I called them flexi jobs - one specific task, paired with one specific reward you choose in advance. A deal with yourself.

What I didn't say in the video is that this isn't something I invented. It has a name, and there's a fair amount of research behind it.

It's called the Premack principle.

The idea is simple: if you make something you're likely to do conditional on something you're unlikely to do, the unlikely one becomes much more probable. Access to the thing you want becomes the thing that gets you moving.

You already know this from childhood - vegetables before dessert. What's less obvious is that it works just as well when you're the one setting the terms for yourself.

It's been around since the 1960s and it's used routinely in clinical and educational settings. Which is a nicer position to be in than most productivity advice.

Two things I've learned that make the difference between it working and not:

Count the hidden cost. "Go to the gym" isn't one task. It's changing, travelling, switching environments, and then training. People set a small reward against a job that's secretly three times bigger, the deal starts to feel unfair, and they quietly stop honouring it. Before you decide the reward, work out what the job actually costs.

Pick a reward you want today. This is in the research and I think it's the most missed part. The reward has to be something you'd genuinely choose right now - not something you think you should want. If it isn't appealing in the moment, there's nothing on the other side of the contract.

One more, from a different line of research. Write the job starting with a verb, and make it something you could begin in the next sixty seconds.

• Read for 30 minutes
• Open the doc and write one paragraph

That specificity is doing separate work - vague intentions don't survive contact with a Tuesday, and there's strong evidence that concrete ones do.

If you want the full version with examples, the video is here:

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And I've finally made the template I promised in it :https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ln7nlxe5HpoBlKyvY52xc-JDM-pdl2hM/view?usp=drive_link​

Thoughts? :)

Talk to you soon,

Evie

EvieRan MSc in Psychology · University-trained coach · Author