If you put Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in your kitchen, they might resist the first four times (make it three or two). But I end up eating it. Most of us blame moments like this on weak willpower. As if successful people have superhuman self-control, which the rest of us lack.
But even the most “disciplined” people know that they cannot rely solely on willpower. So they do something smarter. They treat willpower like emergency cash. It’s nice to have when you need it, but it’s not something you spend on everyday expenses.
Bring a friend who has never struggled with eating healthy. When they’re exhausted after a hard day, they don’t stare at the wreath on the counter. There is nothing in their house. They save their willpower to eat an unexpected cupcake in the office break room. What looks like good discipline is actually good design.
The key is to expend willpower once to build a system that eliminates the need for willpower in the future.
Instead of worrying about what to make for dinner every night, use that energy to plan your meals for the week. Instead of hoping you’ll ignore the notifications, use that energy once during your workday to set up an app blocker. Instead of relying on the motivation to save money, use that energy once and for all to automate transfers to your investment and retirement accounts.
I call these chosen constraints. They are guardrails you put for yourself, not limits someone else puts on you. Setting constraints of your own choosing will help you implement them and create real change.
Because the secret is not to increase willpower. We need fewer things.
Design your physical space with environmental constraints in mind
Your surroundings conspire for or against you. Track how many decisions the environment has made today. Are your sneakers buried in your closet? Skip running. Do you have a carpool app on your phone’s home screen? Use it instead of taking the bus.
Shape your space so that good choices are easy and bad choices are difficult. Optimal environmental design requires just a few minutes of relocation. for example:
A professional removed all social media apps from her phone and forced her to log in on a desktop. This friction keeps you from mindlessly scrolling throughout the day. I removed the batteries from the TV remote and stored them on the other side of the house. That little friction turns reflection into choice.
We tend to follow the path of least resistance. If you intentionally design your path, your environment will guide you toward better choices without draining your willpower.
Create pressure to be productive under time constraints
Without deadlines, tasks last forever. The project will remain “nearly complete” indefinitely. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill available time. I’m still waiting to sort out my 2019 digital photos. anytime.
Time constraints create a sense of urgency that prompts action. for example:
An executive scheduled a 45-minute meeting instead of the usual hour. Due to limited time, discussions will be intensive. My newsletter is called System Sunday, and it has built-in deadlines. It must be published on Sunday, as the name will be corrupted if it is published on any other day. This constraint forces me to break free from perfectionism and share my work.
Leverage accountability according to social constraints
There are few things more motivating than the fear of disappointing someone. Social constraints take advantage of this by involving others in your progress. for example:
Every morning, actor Hugh Jackman writes about his ideal day as if it had already happened (“My son and I had the best time today, laughing together…”) and texts it to his mindset coach. “We all have to be accountable to someone,” he says. Of course, not everyone has a mindset coach. If your goal is to run a marathon, you might text a friend your training plan every morning. Replying to their “How was it?” at the end of the day will encourage you to follow through.
Caution: Announcing your goals can be counterproductive. Research shows that people who share their goals publicly are less likely to achieve them. That’s because talking about goals creates a premature sense of accomplishment and reduces motivation to work.
So share your goals strategically. Only tell a few people who can truly support you, such as a coach or a trusted friend. Real responsibility compensates for the initial lack of motivation.
Increase your stake due to money constraints
Stake real money and suddenly you can participate in the game. for example:
A writer booked a non-refundable creative retreat several months in advance. “I should work on my novel” becomes “I already paid $2,000 for time dedicated to writing.” Language learners prepay weekly tutoring with a $50 cancellation penalty. Skipping it costs twice as much.
The beauty of financial constraints? We hate wasting money, so we act thoroughly to justify our investments.
Ben Meer is an author, speaker, and coach known as “The Systems Guy” (Forbes). His weekly newsletter, Systems Sunday, has more than 250,000 subscribers, and his ideas on productivity and systems thinking have built a social media following of more than 2 million people. After earning an MBA from Cornell University and advising Fortune 500 companies at Ernst & Young, Meer realized that the same systems that drive business growth can also make everyday life easier.
