Anti-procrastination vending machine that shreds something dear to you if you don't finish your task on time
Image credit: Selfservice4u
Darko SavicJul 08, 2022
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Anti-procrastination vending machines where you insert something that's dear to you and set a deadline. If you don't finish your task on time your item gets shredded.
Why?
Help procrastinators finish their important tasks on time.
How it works
A vending machine with storage lockers where people who want to stop procrastinating insert something that is valuable to them. They set a timer/deadline by which they oblige themselves to do whatever they need to do.
Every locker has a conveyor belt that moves slowly - in sync with the deadline. If the item is not taken out before the deadline, it falls into an industrial shredder:
Proof of work
You can stop the conveyor belt by providint proof of completed task. Deadlines can only be set to expire during work hours when a receptionist is available to take your video call so that you can provide proof of completed task.
The proof is whatever you and the receptionist agree upon when you drop your item off. It has to be somethng that makes sense. It doesn't have to be very strict. The receptionist will try to believe you if at all possible.
Mobile app
Evey locker has a wide-angle camera where you can see your item progressing towards the shredder.
You get reminders of the approaching deadline via push notifications in the app.
Wall of shame
If you didn't do what you set out to do, but still don't want your stuff shredded, you can opt for the one-time-only option to have your name and photo listed on the wall of shame. You get your item back unharmed but your name/face remains on the wall of shame for weeks. If after that you ever use the service again, and you fail to do your task, there is no recourse. Your item would be shredded.
Emergency stop
In the final 30 minutes before the deadline an "emergency stop" feature becomes available in the shredder service's mobile app. You can use it if for whetever reason you can't get ahold of the receptionist to prove you've completed the task. It's mandatory to add an audio/text message when activating the emergency stop. Upon seeing it, the receptionist tries to get in touch with you. If they can't get ahold of you, they resume the counter.
How about an app that donates your money to charity each time you enter on Facebook ?
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Darko Savic2 years ago
Or locks it into your savings account for 10 years
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General comments
Oguntola Tobi2 years ago
Something about destruction of anything turns me off. I would suggest that, instead of destroying something dear to you, the machine donates it to charity. If it is an item that the charity can incorporate, great. If it is not, they can sell it off and use the money to run their operations.
However, since the machine is a personal item, donating will require that the manufacturers send people to collect forfeited items.
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Shubhankar Kulkarni2 years ago
Great idea. So the user pays some fee for using the service? Or does the service profit from selling the scrap it makes? The fee to the user should be dependent upon the size of "the dear thing" and the time you keep it there.
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Darko Savic2 years ago
Shubhankar Kulkarni they pay a standard fee to use the locker. The item needs to fit in there
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Spook Louw2 years ago
While I think the idea would be very effective, perhaps it would be good to also incorporate a less extreme option where people simply do not get access to the item until a task has been completed, instead of the item being destroyed it is simply stored until the task is complete. This could open up other ways of using the service as well, for instance, children/employees can be encouraged to complete certain tasks because they will be rewarded by gaining access to a gift/bonus. Or, it could be a good way to outsource work, for instance, create a job and deposit an item or amount of cash, and whoever completes the job gets to take it. All that matters is that the job is completed and it removes any opportunity for employment discrimination of any form.
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Goran Radanovic2 years ago
I like. For really important tasks, you would have to risk your phone. So not only do you not have access to the phone while you procrastinate, but it would be destroyed past the deadline.
I'd like to see a virtual shredder as well. Your social media account gets deleted or the shredder is connected to your bank account and withdraws money if you pass the deadline.
Darko Savic Jul 08, 2022
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