Commitment device app that works on a dead man's switch. The idea is to use the discipline you have now to discipline your future self.
eg1 - Enter your weight every month. If you go over a predetermined weight, it does something punitive. Posts embarrassing pictures online, emails your mom, donates $50 to the Klu klux Klan.
eg2 Create a todo list with due dates, goals or somesuch. Failing to complete them does something punitive.
eg3 Create out a challenge (exercise 5 times per week). Failure to complete challenge does something punitive.
The key is to get the psychological component right. I think if someone's daily task is 100 or more pushups they are more likely to fraudulently push a complete button than they are to enter a fraudulent number of pushups.
I use http://beeminder.com/ for this. For my weight, I have a Fitbit Aria scale -- I weigh in daily, it uploads my weight to Fitbit and the data is pulled in by Beeminder. So there's no friction in getting data into the service (I just blearily step onto the scale every day) and there's no way for me to lie, even if the thought of financial loss tempted me to.
One guy decided that he wanted to get healthy. So, he made a list of prohibited foods and actions and wrote a check for $750 payable to Oprah Winfrey (he dislikes Oprah for some reason).
He told his wife, "If I do anything on this list in the next 30 days, send this check to Oprah, no exceptions."
Beeminder, as others have mentioned, handles #1 and #3 pretty well (minus the donation to the KKK part - the money for failing goes to Beeminder).
I built GTBee[1] using the Beeminder API which is pretty much #2. Again, the punitive thing is taking your money, starting at $5 and escalating from there.
This isn't to say that it wouldn't be a fun project to build things that do this though!
eg1 - Enter your weight every month. If you go over a predetermined weight, it does something punitive. Posts embarrassing pictures online, emails your mom, donates $50 to the Klu klux Klan.
eg2 Create a todo list with due dates, goals or somesuch. Failing to complete them does something punitive.
eg3 Create out a challenge (exercise 5 times per week). Failure to complete challenge does something punitive.
The key is to get the psychological component right. I think if someone's daily task is 100 or more pushups they are more likely to fraudulently push a complete button than they are to enter a fraudulent number of pushups.
Could be a fun project.