Pact / Habit contract template
Free habit contract template
Write the promise, name a witness, add a grace clause for bad days. Then send it to your witness or print it. It takes about a minute, and you don't need an account.
Image saved. Now send it to your witness with this message:
Made in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to Pact or anyone else.
A contract nobody checks fades by week two
The paper doesn't know if you ran today. Pact does the checking for you: you log a habit with one tap, a single bad day costs nothing, and if you miss two scheduled days in a row, your witness gets a WhatsApp message.
Status: partner alerts on WhatsApp are in a closed test right now and switch on for everyone at public launch.
What is a habit contract?
A habit contract is a short written promise: what you'll do, how often, for how long, who is watching, and what happens if you don't. James Clear popularized the idea in Atomic Habits, where the contract's job is to make skipping costly. Once someone else has seen your promise, breaking it is no longer a private decision.
It works for the same reason gym buddies and study partners work. A promise kept only in your head is easy to renegotiate at 6 a.m. A promise your friend has a copy of is harder to quietly drop.
What to put in yours
- One habit, specific. "Run for 20 minutes" beats "get fit". If you can't tell at the end of the day whether you did it, rewrite it.
- A schedule you can actually keep. "Every weekday" or "three times a week" is fine. Daily is only better if it's realistic.
- An end date. 30 days is a good first contract: long enough to matter, short enough to see the finish.
- A witness. Someone whose opinion you care about, who will actually reply when you slip.
- A grace clause. Plan for the bad day before it comes, so one miss doesn't end the whole thing.
- A forfeit, if you want one. Small and a little annoying. Ideally it's something nice for your witness.
An example
Habit contract
I, Maria, commit to reading 10 pages, every evening before bed, for 30 days, from November 3 to December 2.
1. If I miss, Dan gets to know about it.
2. One missed day a week is forgiven. Two in a row is not.
3. If I break this contract, I will cook Dan dinner.
Signed: Maria · Witness: Dan
Why the grace clause matters
All-or-nothing contracts tend to break on the first bad day. You get sick, travel, or just have a terrible Tuesday, the streak is gone, and so is the reason to keep going. Allowing one miss a week keeps the contract alive through a normal life while still catching real drift: two misses in a row means something is off, and that's exactly when your witness should hear about it.
Picking your witness
Pick someone you'd mildly hate to disappoint and who is kind about it. A witness who lectures makes you hide; one who never replies makes the contract toothless. If they're up for it, be each other's witness. More on that in choosing an accountability partner.
Questions
Is a habit contract legally binding?
No. It's a personal commitment, not a legal document. Its power comes from having written the promise down and from knowing someone else has read it.
How long should a habit contract last?
Long enough to matter and short enough to see the end. 30 days is a good first contract. When it ends, sign a new one, maybe with a slightly bigger habit.
What's a good forfeit?
Something small that you'd still rather avoid, ideally one that benefits your witness: buying them coffee, doing one of their chores. Skip anything you can't afford or that would make you quit instead of restart.
Do I need to print it?
No. Most people send the image to their witness. If you like paper, use Print and stick it somewhere you'll see it.
Is what I type saved anywhere?
Only in your own browser, so the form is still filled in if you come back. Nothing is sent to Pact or anyone else.