7 ms·

The Acceleration of Addictiveness vs Willpower, Productivity, and Flow

128 points by revorad 15y ago

anukulrm 15y ago
Just curious, does anybody know of any studies that supports the OP's claims about willpower? The OP describes it as though willpower were a muscle.
- kbd 15y ago
  Didn't read the OP's link yet, but it sounds like it's talking about this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/your-money/09shortcuts.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/your-money/09shortcuts.htm...
  - lostmypw 15y ago
    If this page doesn't load for someone... just refresh. I've been getting a "page unavailable" response at first, but the link does, in fact, work.
- gwern 15y ago
  There are studies supporting that, yes, but there is also a study or two which seem to say that the muscle model is a self-fulfilling prophecy! It's a complicated area, let us say. See: http://lesswrong.com/lw/2y2/willpower_not_a_limited_resource/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/2y2/willpower_not_a_limited_resource... http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured_procrastination/196o http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured... See also http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured_procrastination/196o http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured... http://lesswrong.com/lw/1yn/what_would_you_do_if_blood_glucose_theory_of/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/1yn/what_would_you_do_if_blood_gluco... (and all the studies in the comments especially) http://lesswrong.com/lw/h3/superstimuli_and_the_collapse_of_western/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/h3/superstimuli_and_the_collapse_of_...
static_cast 15y ago
Hardcore procrastinator here. Reading good articles like that won't change anything. That's the bitter truth. At least this is the case for me, and probably some other people on the internet. I'm nowhere near to have myself in full control again but I'm sick of wasting my days and feeling bad over this. Willpower for me only works when I'm concentrated. So there is a concentration problem. Being able to concentrate is also a muscle. I'm having a habit of actively avoiding exercising concentration. Related to programming it's difficult for me: A problem in my Code appears? I'm starting to Google solutions instead of trying to get a complete understanding of the problem. I'd fool myself into saying: I would look into this but I don't have the time and nobody will pay me for that. Googling and somehow trying to apply the results often works but it gives you an feeling of being unable to create something on it's own. Then there is this thought: I would like to do something but there are too much people out there that could it better, so why bother trying? And Instead of spending the days and nights learning and working on something I'm jumping around switching between problems I never fully understood nor am I able to afford the time to understand them... So it comes down from willpower to concentration and at the moment I'm believing the cause for a lack of these skills is a lack of structure. Structure for me is planning, planning in advance. Revisiting your plans and having clear ideas about yourself and the surrounding world. So creating structure requires concentration... It works like a Circulus vitiosus in both ways. If you are structured for a longer time you're concentration and willpower will go up. If you lack concentration your structure get's weaker and concentration will fall, procrastination will rise. How to solve this problem? Honest question. (Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I think it is somewhat relevant to productivity and flow to sort these things out)
- hammock 15y ago
  Nothing wrong with googling solutions to code...or is there?
  - static_cast 15y ago
    No I think there isn't. It is effective and often there is probably no other even mildly realistic way to solve some problem in time (e.g. a bug that is reported in the software bug-tracker) I missed to make a concise point with that (concentration anyone?) It's more like 'Googling for a solution' became my default behaviour in most parts of my life. Be it education, food, advice... I think this is dangerous at least for me.
keeptrying 15y ago
I really think the effect of our environment on our behavior is very underestimated. The longer you've spent in one place, the harder it is to change your behavior when your there. And I mean physical places. That's why it's so difficult to work on your home computer if your used to surfing the net or gaming there. And that's why travel helps. Each time you travel, you get the opportunity to change and you usually do. I think willpower is overrated - change your environment - and that includes the people you work with - and you'll make progress. Sitting in the same room with the same people, is making it harder on yourself than you realize.
awakeasleep 15y ago
Terrific Article-- thanks for writing. We've found similar 'rules' while attempting to direct our lives. About a year ago the futility of defining negative goals ("Don't smoke, don't waste time online") became clear to me— but I saw more to it than the notion that saying "Don't X" makes you think of X. I thought it also has to do with the fact that behaviors are in our lives because they serve a purpose, and removing certain behaviors without addressing the needs they filled leaves ya unbalanced. Going on walks, like you linked from the article, really works for me. About that time, there was a slideshow on here covering effective ways to change your behavior & the role of willpower when you're doing it. The main points of the presentation were: 1) willpower is limited, and 2) changing our environment makes the most difference when altering our behaviors. Here is my summary: 1. Willpower alone isn't sufficient motivation for long term change. - Know that willpower won't sustain a long term change by itself, although it can get you started. 2. Attempt Baby Steps, not Big Leaps - Seek tiny successes and tiny changes. Then build on what you've done with another step 3. Notice how the environment shapes your behavior - Changing the context of your life helps sustain long term changes in your behavior 4. Focus on creating new behaviors, not stopping old ones. - Focus on action, not avoidance. 5. Failures don't necessarily indicate a lack of motivation - More like a failure of planning. Find a way to make the behavior easier to do 6. Recognize and understand the power of triggers. - No behavior happens without a trigger. Find ways to remove or alter triggers in your environment 7. Information alone doesn't lead to action - Our environment needs to be set up in a way that helps us capitalize on that information 8. Focus on concrete behaviors rather than abstract goals - Abstract: Get in shape. Concrete: Walk 15 min. today. Turn your abstract goal into a series of baby steps. 9. Try to change a behavior for a short time, rather than forever - A fixed period works better than "forever" 10. Remember, behavior change need not be difficult. - Behavior change can be relatively easy when you take many steps to increase the probability that your desired behavior will occur.
- billswift 15y ago
  >Willpower alone isn't sufficient motivation for long term change. - Know that willpower won't sustain a long term change by itself, although it can get you started. The most important motivation for long-term change is to have a goal. Enthusiasm for that goal is what will get you started. Willpower is for powering through the (hopefully brief) periods where your enthusiasm and your focus on your goal falter. All three are necessary for sustained achievement. >Failures don't necessarily indicate a lack of motivation - More like a failure of planning. The big benefits of planning is to clarify your goal and then provide path for reaching it that will help you maintain your focus on the goal.
ruang 15y ago
I take advantage of my addictiveness to getting things done by planning out the next 5 steps so I don't get distracted by new tasks.
zipdog 15y ago
Great article, although I wonder about the assertion that willpower is a solo thing. Surely social pressures act as motivating forces on our will to do things - for instance if we tell a few friends that we'd going to run a marathon then we'll be more likely to train for it. Or even better, if we agree to meet a friend at the gym at 7 then we're much more likely to get ourselves to the gym than if we just write "gym at 7" in a to do list. But perhaps this only applies to initial motivators and isn't enough for focus (sustained motivation to concentrate on a task)
jberryman 15y ago
Haven't finished the article yet, but the bit about framing reminds me of a core principal of Alexander Technique which is to forget about introspection and judging your position and movements (primarily because these judgements are often incorrect) and instead to give your body the directions that you learn from your teacher. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_technique http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_technique It's really something I believe in if anyone is struggling with pain or tension.
bcl 15y ago
Excellent article! Much better than the normal post we see about focus or procrastination. But now I have something like 10 more tabs open and a couple of book I'm probably going to be buying... Thanks!
olliesaunders 15y ago
I don’t agree with this willpower is a muscle hypothesis. Relying on willpower is a mistake. Willpower should be the force that begins a commitment to a new thing. After that you want to use other forces to keep you going. And you don’t need to be worried that this minimal usage of willpower will reduce your overall ability to have willpower because the thing that really builds willpower—much more than just blindly exerting it—is being successful. What I’m essentially saying here is that addiction itself is not the enemy. You just have to pick the right addictions. Get addicted to the process of making long-term changes in your life, improving yourself, and doing what ever it is you truly want to do. The problem with willpower is that exerting it is exhausting and one day you might not have enough energy to exert it and then, because you’re relying on it, you’ll slip and feel crap about yourself. You may wonder why you even bothered. The author does suggest at least one good alternative: change you environment to avoid temptations. Other good ideas are: * Repeatedly remind yourself of why you are doing this difficult thing. Write down the reasons and make a point of reading them once a day * Tell lots of other people about it so that it is embarrassing if you quit * Make a step-by-step plan with each step being well-defined, easily achievable, and time-boxed. If this sounds like too much BDUF (Big Design Up Front)—I’ve started to hate planning because so often the plans need to change—then only plan up a couple of steps in advance * Celebrate your successes: document each achievement you make toward your goal: even if it’s just ticking things off your step-by-step plan, have a physical action you perform that represents “Yes, I did it.” * If behavior change is your thing, tie your behavior change to specific real-world triggers. For instance you can use walking through doors as a trigger to become aware of your posture. This can be difficult because often the triggers don’t exist: the last example does little to help a person who spends consecutive hours programming. But you can create your own triggers with timers, alarm clocks, software that makes use of accelerometers, or simply leave things out and open in your environment or tie bits of string to your finger etc. * If you’re actively trying to avoid something, come up with something else to replace it. Particularly good is switching from one bad habit that uses up no limited resources to another that does. For instance if you want to stop biting your fingernails, which you can do pretty much anytime, you could take up chewing gum instead. The advantage to doing this is that once you habitually chew gum instead of biting your fingernails you can just stop buying gum. (A lot of this advice comes from a book called 59 Seconds that has a section on motivation. All of it is based by scientific studies.)
flocial 15y ago
The only time I ever feel productive is when I develop a full-on obsession to do something and improve at it. Other times it's the feeling of being part of a greater force for the better. Then I start cruising and here I am. Cardiovascular exercise is one helluva drug but my experience tells me it's effects on behavior are pretty domain specific (although there is a lot of research on how it will enhance mental functions and executive brain functions). It clears my head like nothing else but the spillover into the other aspects of my life isn't that dramatic.
yesbutno 15y ago
Great article apart from the plug for Apple - I wish it was possible to get away from hearing about them :)

128 points by revorad 15y ago

Just curious, does anybody know of any studies that supports the OP's claims about willpower? The OP describes it as though willpower were a muscle.

kbd 15y ago
Didn't read the OP's link yet, but it sounds like it's talking about this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/your-money/09shortcuts.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/your-money/09shortcuts.htm...
- lostmypw 15y ago
  If this page doesn't load for someone... just refresh. I've been getting a "page unavailable" response at first, but the link does, in fact, work.
gwern 15y ago
There are studies supporting that, yes, but there is also a study or two which seem to say that the muscle model is a self-fulfilling prophecy! It's a complicated area, let us say. See: http://lesswrong.com/lw/2y2/willpower_not_a_limited_resource/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/2y2/willpower_not_a_limited_resource... http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured_procrastination/196o http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured... See also http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured_procrastination/196o http://lesswrong.com/lw/1fe/antiakrasia_technique_structured... http://lesswrong.com/lw/1yn/what_would_you_do_if_blood_glucose_theory_of/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/1yn/what_would_you_do_if_blood_gluco... (and all the studies in the comments especially) http://lesswrong.com/lw/h3/superstimuli_and_the_collapse_of_western/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/h3/superstimuli_and_the_collapse_of_...

static_cast 15y ago

Hardcore procrastinator here. Reading good articles like that won't change anything. That's the bitter truth. At least this is the case for me, and probably some other people on the internet. I'm nowhere near to have myself in full control again but I'm sick of wasting my days and feeling bad over this. Willpower for me only works when I'm concentrated. So there is a concentration problem. Being able to concentrate is also a muscle. I'm having a habit of actively avoiding exercising concentration. Related to programming it's difficult for me: A problem in my Code appears? I'm starting to Google solutions instead of trying to get a complete understanding of the problem. I'd fool myself into saying: I would look into this but I don't have the time and nobody will pay me for that. Googling and somehow trying to apply the results often works but it gives you an feeling of being unable to create something on it's own. Then there is this thought: I would like to do something but there are too much people out there that could it better, so why bother trying? And Instead of spending the days and nights learning and working on something I'm jumping around switching between problems I never fully understood nor am I able to afford the time to understand them... So it comes down from willpower to concentration and at the moment I'm believing the cause for a lack of these skills is a lack of structure. Structure for me is planning, planning in advance. Revisiting your plans and having clear ideas about yourself and the surrounding world. So creating structure requires concentration... It works like a Circulus vitiosus in both ways. If you are structured for a longer time you're concentration and willpower will go up. If you lack concentration your structure get's weaker and concentration will fall, procrastination will rise. How to solve this problem? Honest question. (Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I think it is somewhat relevant to productivity and flow to sort these things out)

hammock 15y ago
Nothing wrong with googling solutions to code...or is there?
- static_cast 15y ago
  No I think there isn't. It is effective and often there is probably no other even mildly realistic way to solve some problem in time (e.g. a bug that is reported in the software bug-tracker) I missed to make a concise point with that (concentration anyone?) It's more like 'Googling for a solution' became my default behaviour in most parts of my life. Be it education, food, advice... I think this is dangerous at least for me.

keeptrying 15y ago

I really think the effect of our environment on our behavior is very underestimated. The longer you've spent in one place, the harder it is to change your behavior when your there. And I mean physical places. That's why it's so difficult to work on your home computer if your used to surfing the net or gaming there. And that's why travel helps. Each time you travel, you get the opportunity to change and you usually do. I think willpower is overrated - change your environment - and that includes the people you work with - and you'll make progress. Sitting in the same room with the same people, is making it harder on yourself than you realize.

awakeasleep 15y ago

Terrific Article-- thanks for writing. We've found similar 'rules' while attempting to direct our lives. About a year ago the futility of defining negative goals ("Don't smoke, don't waste time online") became clear to me— but I saw more to it than the notion that saying "Don't X" makes you think of X. I thought it also has to do with the fact that behaviors are in our lives because they serve a purpose, and removing certain behaviors without addressing the needs they filled leaves ya unbalanced. Going on walks, like you linked from the article, really works for me. About that time, there was a slideshow on here covering effective ways to change your behavior & the role of willpower when you're doing it. The main points of the presentation were: 1) willpower is limited, and 2) changing our environment makes the most difference when altering our behaviors. Here is my summary: 1. Willpower alone isn't sufficient motivation for long term change. - Know that willpower won't sustain a long term change by itself, although it can get you started. 2. Attempt Baby Steps, not Big Leaps - Seek tiny successes and tiny changes. Then build on what you've done with another step 3. Notice how the environment shapes your behavior - Changing the context of your life helps sustain long term changes in your behavior 4. Focus on creating new behaviors, not stopping old ones. - Focus on action, not avoidance. 5. Failures don't necessarily indicate a lack of motivation - More like a failure of planning. Find a way to make the behavior easier to do 6. Recognize and understand the power of triggers. - No behavior happens without a trigger. Find ways to remove or alter triggers in your environment 7. Information alone doesn't lead to action - Our environment needs to be set up in a way that helps us capitalize on that information 8. Focus on concrete behaviors rather than abstract goals - Abstract: Get in shape. Concrete: Walk 15 min. today. Turn your abstract goal into a series of baby steps. 9. Try to change a behavior for a short time, rather than forever - A fixed period works better than "forever" 10. Remember, behavior change need not be difficult. - Behavior change can be relatively easy when you take many steps to increase the probability that your desired behavior will occur.

billswift 15y ago
>Willpower alone isn't sufficient motivation for long term change. - Know that willpower won't sustain a long term change by itself, although it can get you started. The most important motivation for long-term change is to have a goal. Enthusiasm for that goal is what will get you started. Willpower is for powering through the (hopefully brief) periods where your enthusiasm and your focus on your goal falter. All three are necessary for sustained achievement. >Failures don't necessarily indicate a lack of motivation - More like a failure of planning. The big benefits of planning is to clarify your goal and then provide path for reaching it that will help you maintain your focus on the goal.

ruang 15y ago

I take advantage of my addictiveness to getting things done by planning out the next 5 steps so I don't get distracted by new tasks.

zipdog 15y ago

Great article, although I wonder about the assertion that willpower is a solo thing. Surely social pressures act as motivating forces on our will to do things - for instance if we tell a few friends that we'd going to run a marathon then we'll be more likely to train for it. Or even better, if we agree to meet a friend at the gym at 7 then we're much more likely to get ourselves to the gym than if we just write "gym at 7" in a to do list. But perhaps this only applies to initial motivators and isn't enough for focus (sustained motivation to concentrate on a task)

jberryman 15y ago

Haven't finished the article yet, but the bit about framing reminds me of a core principal of Alexander Technique which is to forget about introspection and judging your position and movements (primarily because these judgements are often incorrect) and instead to give your body the directions that you learn from your teacher. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_technique http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_technique It's really something I believe in if anyone is struggling with pain or tension.

bcl 15y ago

Excellent article! Much better than the normal post we see about focus or procrastination. But now I have something like 10 more tabs open and a couple of book I'm probably going to be buying... Thanks!

olliesaunders 15y ago

I don’t agree with this willpower is a muscle hypothesis. Relying on willpower is a mistake. Willpower should be the force that begins a commitment to a new thing. After that you want to use other forces to keep you going. And you don’t need to be worried that this minimal usage of willpower will reduce your overall ability to have willpower because the thing that really builds willpower—much more than just blindly exerting it—is being successful. What I’m essentially saying here is that addiction itself is not the enemy. You just have to pick the right addictions. Get addicted to the process of making long-term changes in your life, improving yourself, and doing what ever it is you truly want to do. The problem with willpower is that exerting it is exhausting and one day you might not have enough energy to exert it and then, because you’re relying on it, you’ll slip and feel crap about yourself. You may wonder why you even bothered. The author does suggest at least one good alternative: change you environment to avoid temptations. Other good ideas are: * Repeatedly remind yourself of why you are doing this difficult thing. Write down the reasons and make a point of reading them once a day * Tell lots of other people about it so that it is embarrassing if you quit * Make a step-by-step plan with each step being well-defined, easily achievable, and time-boxed. If this sounds like too much BDUF (Big Design Up Front)—I’ve started to hate planning because so often the plans need to change—then only plan up a couple of steps in advance * Celebrate your successes: document each achievement you make toward your goal: even if it’s just ticking things off your step-by-step plan, have a physical action you perform that represents “Yes, I did it.” * If behavior change is your thing, tie your behavior change to specific real-world triggers. For instance you can use walking through doors as a trigger to become aware of your posture. This can be difficult because often the triggers don’t exist: the last example does little to help a person who spends consecutive hours programming. But you can create your own triggers with timers, alarm clocks, software that makes use of accelerometers, or simply leave things out and open in your environment or tie bits of string to your finger etc. * If you’re actively trying to avoid something, come up with something else to replace it. Particularly good is switching from one bad habit that uses up no limited resources to another that does. For instance if you want to stop biting your fingernails, which you can do pretty much anytime, you could take up chewing gum instead. The advantage to doing this is that once you habitually chew gum instead of biting your fingernails you can just stop buying gum. (A lot of this advice comes from a book called 59 Seconds that has a section on motivation. All of it is based by scientific studies.)

flocial 15y ago

The only time I ever feel productive is when I develop a full-on obsession to do something and improve at it. Other times it's the feeling of being part of a greater force for the better. Then I start cruising and here I am. Cardiovascular exercise is one helluva drug but my experience tells me it's effects on behavior are pretty domain specific (although there is a lot of research on how it will enhance mental functions and executive brain functions). It clears my head like nothing else but the spillover into the other aspects of my life isn't that dramatic.

yesbutno 15y ago

Great article apart from the plug for Apple - I wish it was possible to get away from hearing about them :)