When your computer password expires, it is impossible to do anything on the computer again until you change your password and reestablish the credentials. Although doing this is an unpleasant chore, the no-options barrier set up by the computer login screen forces even diehard procrastinators to instantly attend to this task.
Meanwhile I have several other overdue tasks in real life, and if only those were presided over by as strict a gatekeeper, I would surely be forced to achieve them.
Imagine getting to your computer and when you try to log in, it says "Last haircut 4 weeks ago - Enter Verification of Recent Haircut" or "Last gym visit one week ago - Enter Pass Code from Gym Visit". You've arranged with your haircutter and your sports club beforehand to lock your computer, and they now provide you with a new encrypted pass code on each visit.
If you haven't gotten your haircut by now, there's no point trying to do your work - you can't. To talk yourself out of this task would be like convincing your computer to ignore its password change algorithm.
Might as well go get your haircut right now so that you can begin your workday.
Thank you.-- phundug, Feb 11 2008 If you have the motivation to go to the trouble to set up a computer system and arrange passwords at your barber and gym, you aught to have the motivation to do these things in the first place.-- DanDaMan, Feb 11 2008 That's a rather unfair criticism, [DanDaMan]; the password system could be set up because one knows that one *should* perform certain tasks, although one may not feel like performing them at the time that they're required.-- angel, Feb 11 2008 Anyone who requires a self-imposed external control to control themselves is not a rational person and shouldn't have access to a computer.
And before you got pointing at alarm clocks, those perform a function that a human being cannot naturally perform.
All this idea does is add more intermediate steps into your conscious control of your actions.-- DanDaMan, Feb 11 2008 I'm going to have to fish bone this as it will get you fired. (-) The upside of that is you would now have time to perform all those other tasks, and one new one, find a new job.-- MisterQED, Feb 11 2008 What happens if I forget to pay my gym membership and the manager locks me out of my work computer? Or my spiteful ex-girlfriend hits the "Spend more time with $GIRLFRIEND" switch? [-]-- Noexit, Feb 11 2008 My life would become a pointless reproduction of daily automaton. Wait a minute...
At least I would get something done. Would this be tied to how many times I could log in here?
Bun here. I need this.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 11 2008 You sick puppy. [+]-- sprogga, Feb 11 2008 Good idea for people who might this, but I'm sure someone can hack it.-- xandram, Feb 12 2008 random, halfbakery