Lever: Lock-in Commitment
Aim: Catch risky urges at the source and reroute them into low-friction, low-cost substitutes that meet the same need.

Now:

One micro-slip kills the streak. Doom-scroll, cheat-click, snack-swipe and the momentum's gone. Willpower is already lost.
→

Then:

They pause, see the cost, and slide into a safer outlet that scratches the same itch without thinking too hard.

Trigger test

Great, run this tactic.

Build

Map the trigger zone

Track where and when users go off course.
Use logs, interviews, replays.

  • Is the same moment showing up across users?
  • Are triggers visual, temporal, or contextual?

Pin the itch

Name the need the temptation feeds.
Is it Sensory? Social buzz? Escape? Micro-win? Boredom?

  • Can your team agree what the user’s chasing?
  • What possible alternatives deliver the same feeling?

Design the safe substitute

Pick a low-stakes action that meets the same need.
Write an “If X, then Y” plan.
Visualise the trigger moment: what happens, where, when.

  • Can it start in <10 seconds?
  • Is it something a user can picture doing right there?

Rewire the environment

Put the safe action closer than the risky one.
Auto-focus on it. Pin it visually. Physically move the risk (out of view, or behind one extra step).

  • Have you changed both digital and physical defaults?
  • Is the safe choice impossible to miss?

Build a friction gap

Add a 1–3 second delay to the risky option.
Just enough to make it feel slower.

  • Have you tested where friction tips behaviour?

Surface a personal cost

Show the trade-off in their language.
“Skip = +12 min later” or “Snack = +£8 this week”

  • Does it hit their currency: time, money, reputation?
  • Is the number real, not guilt-fuelled?

Default to the safe path

Pre-select the substitute.
Set tab order or focus to land there.

  • Does the default feel intentional, not forced?

Metrics

Log baseline numbers before drills. Then track gains.


Signal
Diversion rate
Derail events
Substitute satisfaction
Reactance
↓
↓
↓
↓
Measure
% of temptations rerouted.
Risky actions per user/session.
Avg 1-5 rating of safe option.
% tagging experience “annoying”.
↓
↓
↓
↓
Move
≥60% within 2 weeks.
↓ 30%.
≥4.0.
< 10%.

In action

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