No excuses. The grand experiment

TL;DR

Me: I'm committing to a year of 100% plan execution.

You: Comment by January 31st to enter the draw. Each time I fail, I give $200 to a random participant.

January contract

My friends, I bet you've all built ambitious plans for the coming year. I'm not going to be an exception, except that I'm committing to all my plans coming true this time.

After a year of leisurely research into willpower and discipline, after experimenting with various "systems" — implementation intentions, the search for meaning, environmental nudges — I understand better what works for me and what doesn't.

I'm inviting you to spectate my game of life, with a chance to win $200 every time I fail (no more than once per sprint, taking into account the recovery protocol). A grand experiment starts today.

I call it an experiment because it's all about public accountability, which I haven't tried before. I think I'll find it more difficult than reporting to a friend.

I call it grand because I'm making the contract auto-renewable. I've identified that one month is not enough to rewire my brain. When a one-month contract ends, unless I start a new one, it's easy to slip back into the vicious cycle of past addictions.

Certainly, I'm not going to become a robot. True feelings and satisfaction are above all. I'm just framing my life with well-defined binary boundaries to see whether such a life will become more satisfying long-term.

Thinking rationally, there's literally nothing except unpredictable emergencies that prevents me from succeeding with these intentions.

The marathon

I'm running twelve monthly sprints. At the end of each sprint, I'm going to write a progressive summary and adjust plans for the next one.

My January is a transitional period. I'm slowly moving north, discovering new cities on my way to Vietnam. So I'm not committing to any non-trivial activity — it's a risky statement when you change hotels more often than your shirts.

The material outcomes

I am focusing on process-based accountability. Sharing goals acts against one's motivation toward achieving them. Anyway, you'll know about the material outcomes once they become tangible. If I can't master the routine, the goals don't matter.

I'm sharing my strategies and systems — those which I'll rigorously follow throughout the year. The core of every strategy is dead simple: I either commit to doing an action regularly so it becomes a habit, or I commit to avoiding an action until my brain stops craving it naturally.

The spiritual outcomes

Achieving material goals for their own sake is pointless and brutally harmful. These are the "meanings" behind the entire venture:

1. Increase the frequency and duration of periods of happiness.
2. Expand the horizons of seeking meaning and the philosophical worldview.
3. Prove that the commitment contract method works.
4. Reset my neurochemistry (endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin).
5. Regain the skill of filling myself with internal energy, inspiration, and "goosebumps" moments.
6. Reclaim the once-lost surges of breakthrough thoughts and productivity.
7. Eliminate all addictions, no matter how minor or harmless they may seem.

My honest "slips" of the past year

The year 2025 was "relatively amazing", seriously. I don't think I've ever felt more calm, confident, and satisfied — internally. The outside world will always be chaotic.

1. I didn't launch a single software product that I dreamed of.
2. I read tons of books without reflecting deeply on the content, so I forgot most of them.
3. I spent too much money as if it were infinite.
4. I got lots of injuries that are persisting with into the new year.
5. I didn't gain even a kilogram of muscle mass.
6. I often felt stressed and preoccupied, though I had zero responsibilities and duties for the whole year.
7. I spent so much time chasing love, but it didn't come.
8. I didn't renew the contracts and slipped every time they ended.

Low-stress protocol

According to the Yerkes–Dodson law, "performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point."

During the last year, thanks to daily reflections and journaling, I identified my main sources of stress, which means I can try eliminating them now. Here's the full list:

1. Emotional swings in uncertain romantic relationships.
2. Unhealed chronic physical injuries.
3. A toxic social environment.
4. An absence of long-term life vision and missions.

I'm addressing them all now. Certainly, in a new environment (Southeast Asia or wherever I'll end up living this year), I'll discover new sources of stress.

No asceticism either. I'm not going to give up on life's pleasures that make me functional. $15 for a lunch with an ocean view — yes please.

Since I'm ditching all addictions, I'm about to discover new ways of relaxation. Contemplating nature and touching grass? Yoga nidra and meditation? We'll see.

The contract

The initial version of the contract is here. It's pretty long, so here's a summary.

Non-negotiable "passive" goals:

• Zero computer and mobile games.
• Zero alcohol and weed.
• Zero adult content.
• Zero obviously harmful food.

Sprint 1 (January) goals:

• Zero social media & doomscrolling.
• Sleep hygiene.
• Daily sports & rehab.
• Morning routine.

Reporting

I'd like to be honest with myself and my environment. Daily reporting is a tiring activity — I learned this when I ran all previous contracts. It's tedious to check the same checkboxes over and over or write generic comments about daily activities.

No worries, I'll shut up and do the reporting anyway, trying to make it engaging for myself and automating as much as possible. Reporting is a must-have feature.

Recovery protocol

Only a robot can remain consistent with binary constraints in a 365-day timeframe. So I'll add the right to make a mistake: one per sprint/month. I know it's easy to abuse it, but I'll try not to.

Grace period

I am permitted to adjust a contract if I identify a logical flaw. This is not about weakening the conditions, but about refining them to better achieve my goals.

Emergency conditions

While I'm going to be rigorous with my activities, I need to define any kind of emergency for the contract to be fair.

There are no exceptions for "passive" goals ("I must not do...") because they're under my complete control. For the first sprint, the only known emergency is a physical inability to do sports due to illness.

Less talk, more action. See you in the comments section. Don’t wish me luck — wish for the payout.