Do What You Said You Would Do
A principle of integrity and reliability - honor your commitments by following through on what you promised.
Also known as: DWYSYWD, Honor Your Commitments, Keep Your Word
Category: Principles
Tags: principles, integrity, reliability, productivity, trust
Explanation
Do What You Said You Would Do (sometimes abbreviated as DWYSYWD) is a fundamental principle of personal integrity and professional reliability. At its core, it's simple: when you make a commitment, follow through.
**Why this matters:**
1. **Trust**: Reliability builds trust. People learn they can count on you.
2. **Reputation**: Your track record of keeping commitments defines how others perceive you.
3. **Self-respect**: Honoring commitments to yourself builds self-confidence and self-trust.
4. **Simplicity**: When you only commit to what you'll actually do, life becomes less complicated.
**Practical implications:**
- **Be careful with commitments**: Don't say 'yes' lightly. Under-promise and over-deliver.
- **Track your promises**: Write down what you've committed to so nothing falls through the cracks.
- **Communicate early**: If circumstances change and you can't deliver, communicate immediately rather than silently failing.
- **Apply to yourself**: Treat promises to yourself with the same weight as promises to others.
This principle connects deeply to productivity systems - a reliable task management system is essentially infrastructure for doing what you said you would do.
Related Concepts
← Back to all concepts