Comment by Eshvy on My experience using financial commitments to overcome akrasia · 2024-04-17T05:42:45.538Z · LW · GW

Hey Josh!

I would like to ask a couple questions regarding user retention, if you don't mind:

On average how long do people use the app before they stop/drop-off? 

On average how many users get past the first week of use? 

Thanks!

Comment by Eshvy on My experience using financial commitments to overcome akrasia · 2024-04-17T05:39:53.962Z · LW · GW

This is completely speculation on my part and I think the general model regarding subagents is correct but I don't think that using apps like this is purely coercion. Are you averse to this because it feels like putting yourself in a skinner box? 

I have no evidence to back this up (my experience is based on doing IFS therapy) but I think a lot subagents have their blind spots and these app help alleviate these blind spots and actually spare the subagent from future pain. 

Let's say your exploratory subagent is not on board with a boring admin task and cannot be convinced about the future pain that will come about from not completing the task and also cannot anticipate the shaming your other subagents will dish out on the subagent for causing issues. I would venture that Incentive structures like forfeit can help make it clear to the subagent that there is a cost to ignoring the task that most of the system is on board with and helps it fall in line. 

In my particular case the subagents that resist any boring or even just routine work are time blind because they always assume there will be time to complete the task and hunger for novelty (I have never had a consistent routine so far). 

I'm on day 2 of using the app so this is just early enthusiasm probably but I would lean towards viewing these apps as corrective lenses for these subagents rather than pure coercion. Mildly uncomfortable to wear and put on (maintain) but likely worth it overall (based on William's data and the rave reviews). 

Comment by Eshvy on My experience using financial commitments to overcome akrasia · 2024-04-16T06:23:52.569Z · LW · GW

Thanks for sharing, very helpful (I lurk and almost never post)! 

Reading the rave reviews on the app site also reinforces how effective the app can be for people with your (our) disposition. 

Have you tried using focusmate? It is the one app the that has helped me deal with similar issues of procrastination but of course I have repeatedly failed the meta-game of applying it consistently. Using forfeit for this problem seems like an obvious solution. 

EDIT: I registered on forfeit and see that it has pomodoro forfeits in the app, so using it for focusmate may be redundant. 

Also, if you don't mind me asking, what is the commitment you most often fail? Is it time spent on twitter and youtube? 

Thanks again!

Comment by Eshvy on How I use Google Forms in my Workflow · 2020-07-27T13:58:04.803Z · LW · GW

I registered here to say that your idea seems very exciting and I'm eager to try it! Also, I would like to ask for a of copy your templates too.

Would you mind elaborating on whether (and if so, how) you use airtable to aggregate your forms into information (eg how many tasks you completed in week, how much a recurring task takes you on average)?

When I first saw your post I assumed you would be aggregating your forms in excel or google sheets. How is airtable different?