Long-term gains

After I work out / swim, I feel great.  Yet, before I work out, I have difficulty starting and think of dozens of reasons why I can't.  Why is that?

Sleeping feels great also.  So great that, like lots of people, it's not easy to drag myself out of bed in the morning.  Yet, at night, when I should go to bed, other things that I could or should do seem to proliferate, and I constantly go to bed late.  Why is that?

I believe the answer also explains why bonuses fail as an incentive practice.

All the satisfaction from the workout and the sleeping come at the end.  Meanwhile, there are other activities that offer more immediate rewards.  Sometimes, as in the case of working out, the activity itself requires exertion, and just sitting and doing nothing can feel more satisfying, in the very short run.

Frequently, the only thing that gets you to do the "right" thing is discipline.  Tricks can help, too, like telling yourself, "If you work out, you can have dessert."  But that's discipline in another form, because you can obviously do what you want.  Automatic withdrawals from your paycheck into your 401k is another form of discipline -- actually, another example of a very beneficial long-term goal that we wouldn't have a chance of fulfilling due to so many short-term alternatives, without the aid of another trick: "out of sight, out of mind".

Similarly, if you work hard over the course of the year, you increase your chance of getting a good bonus.

Of course, that assumes that you work in meritocratic organization, one which has strong capabilities in tracking productivity and achievement, and finely calibrating bonuses accordingly.  It further assumes that you can ignore the fact that the company's performance, which you have little effect on, overwhelmingly impacts your bonus more than any of your personal accomplishments.  If any of this was not true, then clearly the possibility of the bonus would have little part in your decision to do a good job.

But, even assuming all that, how likely is it that your decision in April to put in extra effort, give up your weekend, risk making a fool of yourself, and wear yourself out, will be affected at all by some additional dollars later that year?  It's a struggle just to stay focused on the positive incentive of a work out an hour from now!  The benefit of a full night's rest just a few hours away, all of which accrues to you, is too far off to affect your decisions now!

The bonus is classic example of a long-term gain.  I might further contend it does more damage than good, but at the very least, it clearly has no impact on productivity and personal incentives.