How to develop willpower

One of the most important things about GTD is willpower. Without it, you will not bring things to completion; any system you choose will not work. The first attack of laziness will not let you look at the to-do list. GTD, todo list, kanban board are all tools. We read a lot about them, learn to use them, even program. Only the most important tool that is always with us is willpower.

Until recently, I did not understand how willpower works; I did not know at what point in time self-control would leave me. This has changed one book. I recommend reading it to every IT worker, especially freelancers. As a rule, we have a weak external control, therefore we have to rely only on internal. Therefore, it is so important to configure it. Why I recommend this particular book as a guide under the cut.


Book title and links at the end of the article

1. The book is based on scientific research in the field of psychology.

When I read the book, I was surprised that the tenth chapter is so short. The last 15% of the book is a reference to the used literature. Scientific journals prevail there.

2. There are explanations at the level of physiology of self-control processes

I liked the effects of dopamine the most. It became clear why I love online games, poker and so on. I understand, so I can manage.

3. Based on a course in self-control.

The author teaches willpower courses at Stanford University. Therefore, the book contains practical experience, exercises and tasks to develop your self-control ability. By the way, for me it was a discovery that the author is a woman. The book is written in a very structured way. It can be read as a whole at once, or read a chapter a week, performing experiments.

4. The book suggests experimenting, not believing a word.

You can already know many things from the book. But knowing and understanding are two different things. We know that it’s worth doing exercises, but why not? In order to better understand yourself in the book in each chapter there are experiments. Thanks to them, you can check how the writing works for you. In the end, we are all different, the psyche is different, so not all methods will suit everyone.

5. The book is written in a simple and understandable language.

The genre is non-fiction. There are no abstruse words, but only clear examples. Moreover, examples from different areas: marketing, a description of scientific experiments, wildlife, personal relationships, politics, bad habits, and so on. And all this fit into 200 pages.

My personal experience:

I read the book in early May. Changes over time from reading it:

• established small everyday habits, like cleaning, which he often scored
• achieved regularity in work at the level of the desired 40 hours a week, and not as usual: “we work 12 hours, then we can’t get ourselves to work for a week”
• dropped 6kg, established a healthy diet and regular sport
• began not only to plan, but also to achieve goals

Selected ideas from the book:

• Willpower consists of "I will" - the ability to do what you do not want. "I will not" - the ability to avoid temptations. “I want” is the ability to move toward my goals.
• Willpower is like muscle. It can be overstrained, but you can train. Moreover, the brain is really overgrown with gray matter in a certain area.
• Self-control is a question not only of psychology, but also of physiology
• Willpower is needed to protect us from ourselves.
• We overestimate ourselves tomorrow, and therefore suffer from procrastination

I’ll probably dwell on this, otherwise I will get an abstract of the book.

Summary: read the book, it's worth it. It is called Willpower. How to develop and strengthen ”Kelly McGonigal or in the original source “ The Willpower Instinct ”Kelly McGonigal

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