The Three Pacts (Pre-Commitment Firewall)
Lock in your intentions ahead of time with an effort pact, a price pact, or an identity pact.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 92%
A pact is a pre-commitment made in advance to keep yourself on track — the last line of defense against distraction. There are three types: effort pacts add friction to unwanted behavior, price pacts attach a financial penalty, and identity pacts make the desired behavior part of who you are. Pacts are powerful but only work once the first three indistractable steps are in place.
Origin
Nir Eyal's framework from Indistractable, grounded in the behavioral-economics concept of pre-commitment (Ulysses contracts) and, for identity pacts, the psychology of religion.
Core principles
- 01A pact is a pre-commitment; it is the last step, not the first.
- 02Effort pacts insert friction so distraction requires deliberate effort.
- 03Price pacts make the cost of going off-track high enough to change behavior.
- 04Identity pacts turn behavior into who you are, so the choice is no longer up for debate.
How to run it
- 1
Add an effort pact
Introduce friction that makes distraction harder — a device or app that forces a deliberate action before you can get distracted.
Pro tip A $10 hardware outlet timer that cuts the internet router at a set time, or apps like Forest and Focusmate, insert just enough friction to make you mindful.
- 2
Add a price pact
Attach a financial disincentive to going off track — bet money you'll lose if you don't do what you committed to.
Pro tip The 'would you work out for $10,000?' thought experiment proves you can find the time; then you're just negotiating the price.
Watch out Don't rely on a price pact alone before mastering internal triggers and scheduling traction, or it won't hold.
- 3
Adopt an identity pact
Give yourself a noun that defines who you are — 'I'm indistractable' — the way a vegetarian or a devout person doesn't debate each temptation.
Pro tip Use the label out loud with others ('we're going to be phone-free for this lunch') to make it real and to spread the norm.
In the wild
Eyal bought a $10 outlet timer so his internet router shuts off every night at 10pm. He could re-plug it, but the effort inserts mindfulness into a formerly mindless behavior, prompting him to get to bed on time.
→ Restored his family's bedtime routine and marital intimacy; the effort pact became so ingrained they no longer even need the timer.
Eyal, once clinically obese, used price pacts to get in shape and to finish Indistractable. He notes the All-In podcast hosts reportedly used a large-sum weight-loss bet.
→ Got into the best shape of his life and completed the book.
Eyal's mother declared 'we are non-smokers' and asked a guest to smoke outside — using an identity noun rather than willpower to enforce the norm.
→ Models how an identity pact makes the behavior non-negotiable and spreads a social norm.
Common mistakes
Using pacts first
If you deploy pacts before mastering internal triggers, scheduling traction, and hacking back external triggers, the pact won't work.
Relying on willpower instead of identity
Believing willpower is a depletable resource makes it deplete; adopting an identity label removes the moment-to-moment debate.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who have set up their calendar and trigger management and need a final safeguard for high-stakes commitments.
Not ideal for
Anyone who hasn't yet done the earlier three steps — pacts alone won't hold.
From the transcript
“with packs there's three kinds of packs we have a a price packed”
“an effort PCT is where there's some kind of friction some kind of effort that that you need to take in order to uh to…”
“every night at 10 pm my internet router shuts off”
“indistractable is meant to sound like indestructible it is your identity it is who you are”
“the important thing is you have to do this last”
From the episode
Strategies for becoming less distracted and improving focus
Nir Eyal (author of Indistractable and Hooked)