Temptation Bundling: Meaning, Examples and How to Use It

Temptation bundling means pairing something you want to do with something you should do, and only allowing yourself the treat while (or right after) you do the task. The term comes from Wharton professor Katy Milkman, whose 2014 study let people listen to gripping audiobooks only at the gym.

You skip the workout, the laundry or the study session, but you never skip the next episode. That pull is useful. Below: why it works, what the research shows, 30 examples, a 5-step plan and a planner to print or copy.

What is temptation bundling?

Temptation bundling means pairing something you want to do with something you should do, and only allowing yourself the treat while (or right after) you do the task. The meaning is simple: the treat becomes your reason to start.

A 2008 review of want/should conflicts by Katherine Milkman, Todd Rogers and Max Bazerman describes how the want tends to win in the moment, and how people often regret it later.

Who came up with temptation bundling?

Katy Milkman (Katherine L. Milkman in her papers), a behavioral scientist at the Wharton School, named and tested the idea with Julia Minson and Kevin Volpp in Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym (Management Science, 2014). Page-turner audio novels went on an iPod that stayed in a gym locker, so people could only listen while working out.

Milkman returns to the idea in her 2021 book How to Change, and James Clear made it famous in Atomic Habits (2018), under his second law: make it attractive.

Why temptation bundling works

Temptation bundling works because it gives a task with a slow payoff an instant one.

Present bias. We overweight immediate rewards relative to delayed ones, which is how a 2020 paper on temptation bundling defines present bias. A workout pays off in weeks; the episode pays off tonight. Bundle them, and the workout pays tonight too.

Scarcity. Because you only get the want with the task, it becomes a pull: "I have to go to the gym" turns into "I get to find out what happens next." Milkman's team also argued that a bundle takes the guilt out of a page-turner, though they measured gym visits, not guilt.

The Premack principle. In a 1959 paper, David Premack argued that a behavior you're more likely to do can reinforce one you're less likely to do. Temptation bundling is a practical use of that idea; our guide to behavioral psychology and the Premack principle goes deeper.

Two ways to bundle: at the same time or earned afterwards

At the same time: want plus should. The podcast plays only while you walk. This is the form Milkman tested.

Earned afterwards: should, then want. Instagram opens only once your morning routine is done. This is closer to Premack's idea (vegetables first, then dessert), with less direct evidence: both gym studies tested the want during the task, not after it. Either way, the want only comes through the should.

Does temptation bundling actually work? What the research shows

Yes, modestly. Two field studies found more gym visits, though the first effect faded after a break.

The 2014 gym study

Milkman, Minson and Volpp followed 226 students, faculty and staff at a US university for about nine weeks. One group's audiobooks stayed in a gym locker; a second group was only advised to listen at the gym; a control group got a gift certificate.

At first, the locker group visited the gym 51% more often than the control group, and the advice group 29% more. Then the effect declined, especially after the Thanksgiving break. Still, 61% of participants later chose to pay for gym-only access to iPods with tempting audiobooks: they wanted the rule imposed on them.

The 2020 follow-up with 6,792 gym members

The 2020 experiment, led by Erika Kirgios with Milkman and Angela Duckworth as coauthors, enrolled 6,792 members of 24 Hour Fitness in a four-week program. Some got an audiobook plus a nudge to bundle, some only the audiobook, some neither, and everyone earned small rewards for gym visits.

Compared with the group that got neither, the audiobook plus the nudge raised the chance of a weekly workout by 10 to 14%, during the program and up to 17 weeks after. The nudge added a modest boost over the audiobook alone. Nothing was locked away; the effect was smaller than in 2014, but the setup differed too.

One caveat: only the two audiobook groups were randomized; the group that got neither was a comparison group from the same program.

What the research doesn't show

The evidence is thin. Milkman coauthored both studies, and in 2020 the team called the 2014 study the single, small prior experiment. Both counted gym check-ins, not how hard people trained, and in one 2020 analysis only 14% of the nudged group even claimed the audiobook.

So treat a bundle as a nudge that gets you through the first weeks, until repetition turns the behavior into a habit. In a 2010 study that followed 96 volunteers, Phillippa Lally and colleagues found a median of 66 days for a daily behavior to feel automatic, with estimates from 18 to 254 days.

30 temptation bundling examples (by area of life)

Here are 30 temptation bundling examples across eight areas of life, each with its rule and form: together (at the same time) or earned (afterwards).

Milkman's own classics, from a 2015 interview with Knowledge at Wharton, are a pedicure only while catching up on overdue work and a favorite show only during chores. The 30 below are ours.

Notice what's missing: no candy after a run, no beer after yard work. A treat that works against your goal makes a bad want. Need more shoulds to choose from? Browse our 100+ good habits examples, organized by life area.

How to create your own temptation bundle in 5 steps

1. Make two lists: wants and shoulds

   In one column, list what you look forward to: shows, podcasts, a latte, a call with a friend. In the other, list what you keep putting off. Aim for five on each side. James Clear suggests the same two-column list in his article on temptation bundling.

2. Match on attention

   Pair a task that needs little attention (walking, ironing) with a want you can follow while doing it. A task that needs your full mind (studying, a report) gets an earned want afterwards, or one that only makes the setting nicer, like a cafe or a candle.

3. Set the rule, and keep it outside the bundle too

   Write it as one line: "I only [want] while I [should]" or "I only [want] after I [should]." The rule holds all week, outside the bundle too.

4. Make the start easy

   Charge the headphones, queue the episode, lay out the shoes, line up the playlist. The want should be one tap away the moment the should begins. To pin down exactly when and where, add an if-then plan.

5. Track it for two weeks, then review

   Are you starting the task more often? Is the want still exciting? When the novelty wears off, swap in a new want, ideally one with a next episode or a sequel.

Temptation bundling vs habit stacking vs the Premack principle

Habit stacking decides when you do a habit; temptation bundling makes you want to do it. The Premack principle is the older idea underneath, and an implementation intention is the plan for when and where. They work best together.

In Atomic Habits, temptation bundling sits under the second law, make it attractive, and habit stacking under the first, make it obvious; our Atomic Habits cheat sheet covers all four laws.

For a wider lens, BJ Fogg's behavior model says a behavior happens when motivation, ability and a prompt meet at the same moment. A bundle mostly raises motivation.

Is habit bundling the same thing?

Mostly, yes. "Habit bundling" isn't a fixed scientific term. People usually mean temptation bundling; sometimes they mean grouping several habits into one block, which is closer to habit stacking or a routine.

6 mistakes that make temptation bundling backfire

1. The want is available anytime. If the show also plays at dinner, it stops pulling you onto the bike. Fix: keep the rule from step 3 every day.
2. Both sides need full attention. A show while you study splits your focus, and the studying loses. Fix: earn the episode after the study block.
3. The want is the habit you're trying to quit. Scrolling between sets or snacking while you work feeds the problem. Fix: pick a want that doesn't undermine your goal, or make the phone an earned reward.
4. The want swallows the task. You walk, but so slowly that it stops being exercise. Fix: set a floor, like 30 minutes or 2 miles.
5. The bundle fades after a break. In the 2014 study, the effect dropped after Thanksgiving. Fix: plan your restart after vacations and busy weeks, and rotate wants that have a next part.
6. You never let go of it. A bundle is a starter motor. Fix: once the habit runs on its own, it's fine if the podcast doesn't always come along.

Sometimes the better move is the opposite: leave the phone at home. A quiet walk can be the treat.

Is your bundle any good? Check all five:

• The want is only available with the should.
• The attention fits (see the matrix above).
• The want doesn't undermine your goal.
• The task still counts, with a minimum time or distance.
• It's easy to start: everything is ready the night before.

How to build temptation bundles into your daily routine

A loose bundle depends on you guarding the rule every day. A routine fixes the order, so the should comes first and the want after, with no fresh decision each morning.

Write your morning as a sequence: the hard habit first, the one you look forward to next. A workout, then reading with your coffee. The fixed order is the earned bundle.

Evenings work the same way: dishes and tomorrow's lunch first, then the episode you saved. Keep the want small enough to end on time, one episode rather than three.

That's how we built Greatr. You build a morning routine, an evening routine or both by stacking small habits in a fixed order, your own habits included, then tap Play and run them one at a time. Every habit earns XP, and Otto, the app's guide, counts every day you show up.

For many people, the unearned want is scrolling. With the app lock, you choose the apps that distract you most, like Instagram or TikTok, and they stay locked until you finish your whole routine. The lock screen says "Finish your routine and these open." That's temptation bundling in its earned form, with the app guarding the rule.

The feed will still be there later. First, the habits you chose.

Try it tomorrow: put your hardest habit first in your morning routine and your favorite one right after it.

Your temptation bundling planner (print or copy)

Print this page from your browser, or copy the table into a notebook. List your wants and shoulds, match up to three rules with the matrix above, then check in on day 14: did you do the should more often, and is the want still exciting? If either answer is no, swap one thing, the want, the rule or the time, and give the new version another 14 days. Start with the bundle you're most excited about.

Your next step tonight: fill in one row, charge your headphones, and put the want where only the should can reach it.