Commitment contract: write your own in five minutes

A commitment contract is a promise to yourself with a consequence attached and a witness who checks. Fill in the fields and the contract builds itself next to them. Sign it with your referee, print it, put it somewhere you’ll see it.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.

Length

Pick something you’d rather avoid but can afford. If gambling has cost you money, choose a consequence without money.

Commitment contract

I, ________________, make this promise to myself and to my referee.

Goal

Quit porn

Period

October 22, 2026 – November 21, 2026 (30 days)

The rule

I don’t watch porn or visit adult sites on any device, and my blocker stays on for the whole period.

If I break the rule

—

Referee

—

Check-ins

Every Sunday

If I break the rule, I tell my referee within 24 hours. The consequence follows once, and then we decide together whether I start again.

My signature and date
Referee’s signature and date

A personal promise, not a legal contract. Made with the free commitment contract tool at useclearing.com.

What a commitment contract is

A commitment contract (economists call it a commitment device) is a deal you make with your future self: you choose a goal, a rule and a consequence while you’re clear-headed, so that the tempted version of you later faces a cost. Studies of money-backed contracts, mostly for smoking, found they help the people who sign up for them.

In a trial in the Philippines, smokers who put their own savings into a commitment account were more likely to pass surprise urine tests for nicotine six and twelve months later than smokers who weren’t offered one (Giné, Karlan & Zinman, 2010). The reason it works is old news in psychology: people weigh a loss about twice as heavily as a gain of the same size.

The four parts that make it work

  1. One clear rule. “Watch less” can’t be checked. “No porn on any device, blocker stays on” can.
  2. An end date. 30, 60 or 90 days is long enough to matter and short enough to see the finish.
  3. A referee. Someone you trust who checks in and decides if the rule was broken. Self-reporting alone makes it too easy to fudge.
  4. A consequence that stings but doesn’t hurt you. An amount you’d rather keep, or a non-money consequence if money is part of the problem.

Make the rule checkable

The weakest part of most contracts is verification: a referee can’t see your phone at 1 a.m. Pair the contract with blocking that’s hard to undo. See how to block websites on iPhone, and read our guide to commitment contracts for more on how they work.

Questions

Is a commitment contract legally binding?

This one isn’t: it’s a personal promise between you and your referee. Its power comes from the rule, the witness and the consequence, not from a court.

How much money should I put on the line?

Enough that you’d rather keep it, small enough that losing it wouldn’t hurt you. If money is part of the problem, choose a consequence without money.

What makes a good referee?

Someone you trust, who’ll actually check in, and who’ll hold you to the rule without shaming you. A friend or sibling often works better than a partner.

Is anything I type saved?

No. Everything stays in this browser tab until you print or save it as a PDF.

Sources

  1. Giné, X., Karlan, D. & Zinman, J. (2010). Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is: A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(4), 213–235
  2. Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5, 297–323

General information, not medical or psychological advice. If you’re struggling, talk to a doctor, a therapist or one of the helplines on our responsible use page.

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