Words are inadequate

I've been told by several people that Don't Shoot The Dog is a very good writing book.

It could be, I guess... it's a good understanding how motivations actually work (as opposed to how we think they do) book.

I think the timer thing is partly a way of circumventing the "but I can just take the reward" problem. (the other answer, of course, is to get someone else to dispense rewards upon proof of progress, but that's problematic in other ways.)