

How can we get willpower back once it has been depleted? - gruseom
http://www.scienceandreligiontoday.com/2011/06/15/how-can-we-get-willpower-back-once-it-has-been-depleted/

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MostExtremeCake
Here is a pertinent wikipedia article with some links:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion>

It's interesting how this applies to more trivial things, like trying to keep
yourself from laughing.

Would it be a stretch to say that this supports the idea that we should
automate as much of our lives as possible? If I don't have to decide to put a
certain amount of my paycheck in savings every time I get it, and it happens
automatically, I could potentially reserve that energy for another decision-
based task.

~~~
SatvikBeri
Not a stretch at all-I have become massively more productive since automating
the simple things in my life, not because it saved any amount of time (maybe
45 mins/day), but because it saved so much of my mental energy.

Even getting a GPS made me more productive at work, because figuring out
directions is mentally exhausting for me.

Willpower is also directly linked to glucose. I tried eating more low glycemic
index foods and eating somewhat sugary stuff when I was mentally exhausted,
and it has worked wonders.

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kgtm
TL;DR: Sleep/rest well, exercise, possibly avoid caffeine, try to put yourself
in a good mood.

~~~
dualogy
Caffeine: "improves our willpower for some things, such as concentrating on a
boring and detailed task, but it has no effect or actually impairs our
willpower for other things, such as being polite under trying circumstances."

Sounds good enough to me and probably most coders... I can continue to stick
to my 5-8-mugs-a-day habit of 13 years then. My willpower hasn't suffered much
I think, although it's hard to tell without some experimental withdrawal
period.

~~~
5l
Ditching caffeine did wonders for me. While I tend to feel a little less
"manic" when I'm focused on something, I'm also way more clear headed so I'm
certain I'm actually more effective and thus able to reach a much deeper level
of concentration.

And don't even get me started on how much better I feel first thing in the
morning, or how I can get through a whole week now without headaches, or how
my energy levels don't spike and crash like crazy through the day, or how much
better my digestive system feels without all that coffee in it... and what all
_those_ things do to one's concentration.

It's insidious as well, because you gradually drink more over time; nobody
goes from a standing start to 5-8 mugs a day. If they did, they'd feel like
hell. So as you seem to acknowledge, after over a decade you're not even
making an informed choice any more; there's not been a single moment in all
that time that you haven't either been affected by caffeine or it's temporary
withdrawal.

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saturdaysaint
Willpower and the problem of the lack thereof are pretty hazily defined here.
Poor personal performance is a complicated issue that "Get sleep and exercise"
is a poor prescription to. Poor organization, personality conflicts, attitude
issues, perfectionism, and poor self image will make even the most well-rested
and healthy person underperform at work.

I highly recommend "Procrastination: Why You Do It, What To Do About It" by
Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen and "Getting Things Done" by David Allen for
a deeper examination of these issues and some solutions.

~~~
caesarion
I agree that there are plenty of possible reasons for poor personal
performance, and it would be foolish to assume that more sleep/exercise is a
universal solution. But the article never even went there. It's specifically
talking about willpower - getting it back or getting more of it. I'd say that
the concept of willpower is more of a subcategory to the larger idea you
mentioned about underperformance. In that sense, it's about solving a piece of
the problem, not the whole thing.

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sayemm
"A good deal of willfulness must be inborn, because it's common to see
families where one sibling has much more of it than another. Circumstances can
alter it, but at the high end of the scale, nature seems to be more important
than nurture. Bad circumstances can break the spirit of a strong-willed
person, but I don't think there's much you can do to make a weak-willed person
stronger-willed." - <http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html>

~~~
samtp
I would love to see citations for all of these very general claims about some
of the fundamental debates in modern science (such as nature/nurture). Its
great to quote pg (especially on this board), but hold off on taking his word
as that of a prophet.

~~~
sayemm
Touche, though I still wouldn't knock pg's insights, even if they're just
general inferences. His track record at identifiying winners speaks for
itself.

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Shenglong
Did my mother write this article? "Sleep well, eat your vegetables, and work
hard!!!"

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danneu
Article forgot to mention amphetamine.

~~~
mdaniel
I am actually interested in the eventuality of caffeine (which they did
mention) causing adrenal depletion. Those findings would apply even more
violently to a more violent stimulant such as amphetamine.

I agree with their idea that one can get a spurt of willpower (and brainpower
in general, in my experience) from a stimulant but the crash can be
debilitating.

~~~
5l
And no matter how much caffeine you have, unless you're taking it
intravenously, you're spiking and crashing constantly throughout the day.

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da_dude4242
Meditation

scientific keyword here is "executive function"

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Estragon
One of the things I've learned from meditation is that the "depletion" model
of willpower is bogus.

 _The Happiness Trap_ is a good model for the development of willpower.
<http://www.thehappinesstrap.com/>

~~~
caesarion
What exactly do you mean when you say you've learned "the 'depletion' model of
willpower is bogus"?

~~~
Estragon
There is always capacity to choose not to act on a reactive impulse. The
notion that that capacity is a finite resource which can be depleted is an
illusion.

~~~
caesarion
Resisting reactive impulse is one thing, but do you not find that you have a
limit when it comes to willing yourself to do difficult things? Assuming that
these things come one after another, of course. I'm willing to agree that
capacity for hardship is infinite in a sense, but I would also contend that it
gets harder and harder to call on your willpower/self-control if you've
already had to do so many times in the same day.

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baq
blessed potion of willpower

~~~
hugh3
Be careful though. Once I drank a cursed potion of willpower and wound up
lying on the couch for an entire weekend.

On second thoughts it was twelve margaritas.

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MostAwesomeDude
Replace "willpower" with "gumption" and go read the relevant chapters in Zen
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

