“I need more discipline.”
“When it comes to my writing, I just don’t have the will power I need.”
When students in my Writing Habit and Around the Writer’s Block classes say something like this – and at least one or two always do – nearly every other student nods in agreement.
“I’m not big on discipline,” I tell them and a few look relieved. “And frankly I don’t trust will power. It has failed me too many times and always just when I need it most.” More students nod.
“That’s why I rely on writing habits; they’re easier and far more reliable.”
Decision Fatigue: Too Tired to Think Straight
It took me years of frustration and unmet goals to realize that discipline and will power weren’t going to give me what I wanted. Now I have years of experience to back my intuition that habits do what will power can’t. And I’m delighted to find research that supports my “ocular analysis.”
Recent research has identified the neurological basis of what I observed: social psychologist Roy Baumeister calls it Decision Fatigue.
Every time you make a decision, you use a tiny bit of a limited supply of cognitive ability to make decisions. Making a decision, it turns out, is like lifting a dumbbell. The first time, it seems like nothing; the fiftieth time, you feel the burn.
By the end of an average day, you’ve made at least 200 decisions just about food alone. You make thousands of decisions a day (e.g. when will I open email, should I answer this email now or later or never, what should I say and how should I phrase it, is it time for lunch, where do I want to eat, how many calories are in the sandwich versus the salad, is that guy going to swerve into my lane, should we go to the cabin this weekend, do I need to cut the grass…)
No wonder you’re mentally exhausted by the end of the day.
Why Will Power Will Fail You Every Time
“Will power” is what most people call the ability to make a decision to resist temptation.
The problem is that we face so many temptations that deplete our will power. Furthermore, most of those temptations don’t go away. You don’t just decide not to eat a doughnut once; you have to keep deciding to not eat the doughnut.
It’s no surprise that so many weight-loss efforts fail in the evening when your decision-making capability is at its lowest.
Low blood sugar makes the situation worse. Research shows that the brain’s supply of glucose remains constant despite dips in the body’s overall glucose levels. But when overall blood sugar dips, the brain uses glucose differently, activating very different areas of the brain.
As a result, your brain starts seeking immediate rewards like ice cream or walking away from a challenging task and ignores more long-term goals like losing weight or writing.
Why Habits Work When Will Power Won’t
Every time you make a decision, you deduct a tiny bit from the supply of decision-making capacity. Every time you call on your will power to resist a temptation, you weaken it.
Unlike discipline and will power, habits are strengthened every time you practice them. Every repetition insulates the neural pathway for that behavior, making that pathway more effective, which in turns makes it easier to repeat that behavior.
Habits don’t require decisions – you just do it because you do it. There’s no debate about whether you’ll write today, so you’re not relying on limited decision-making energy.
Even better, when you have a writing habit, you never ask yourself if you’ll write, so there’s no chance you’ll decide not to write.
The Catch-22 in this is that you need a certain kind of discipline and will power to build a new habit. So it’s a good strategy to do the behavior you want to become a habit first thing in the morning. You don’t have time to wonder if you’ll write, you just show up and put in your time.
Putting your writing first means you don’t have to keep deciding all day that you will write later. And you don’t have to face the temptation to put your writing off for another day when your will power is at its lowest.
Another great habit-building strategy is to enlist a partner. People who have workout buddies are far more likely to get to the gym than those who don’t. And writers who tell another writer what commitments they’re making to their writing are far more likely to honor those commitments.
By the way, we make those commitments in the Writing Habit and Around the Writer’s Block classes. Please join me in exploring the information and strategies that will help you create and sustain writing habits that will sustain the writing you want to create.
Visit the Loft or call 612-379-8999 for more information or to register.
Bane of Your Resistance 
My brother recommended I might like this website.
He was entirely right. This publish truly made my day.
You can not consider simply how so much time I had spent for this information!
Thanks!
LikeLike
Hey! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would
be okay. I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
LikeLike
Hi Bibiana, I do use Twitter occasionally. You can follow me at RosanneBane.
LikeLike
I drop a leave a response whenever I appreciate a post on a website or I have
something to valuable to contribute to the discussion.
It’s triggered by the passion communicated in the post I read.
And after this article No Will Power for Writing?
No Problem! | The Bane of Your Resistance. I was actually moved enough to post a thought 😛 I do have 2 questions for you if you do not mind.
Could it be only me or does it look as if like some of these responses look like they are coming from brain dead people?
😛 And, if you are writing on other places, I’d like to follow you.
Would you make a list the complete urls of your public sites like
your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?
LikeLike
My Facebook page is AroundTheWritersBlock and my Twitter and LinkedIn are both my full name Rosanne Bane.
LikeLike
Awesome! Its actually amazing post, I have
got much clear idea regarding from this article.
LikeLike
I just like the valuable information you supply to your articles.
I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at again right here frequently.
I’m relatively sure I will be informed a lot of new stuff right here!
Good luck for the next!
LikeLike
Awesome things here. I’m very satisfied to see your post.
Thank you so much and I am taking a look ahead to contact you.
Will you please drop me a e-mail?
LikeLike
First off I want to say excellent blog! I had a quick question which
I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was interested
to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing.
I’ve had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.
I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost simply just trying to
figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips?
Thank you!
LikeLike
Thanks. I find that 15 minutes of relaxation and/or meditation helps put me in a “writer’s trance”. Also writing first thing in the morning is particularly helpful. Do NOT multitask or respond to email at least two hours before trying to write because multitasking or email fractures our ability to focus and the effects can last for hours.
You might find writing rituals help settle you into your writing more easily. Take a look at http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/56-FE4-WeirdWritingRituals.html
LikeLike