How “Limited Willpower” Is Hurting Your Productivity
How “Limited Willpower” Is Hurting Your
Productivity
The
Way You Think About Willpower is Hurting You. The idea of ego-depletion arose
from a 1990 study done by psychologist Roy Braumeister at Case Western Reserve
University. This study, which we’ll call into question here, has been cited
over three hundred times.
In
the study, researchers placed test subjects in a room with a plate of homemade
cookies, a plate of radishes and an unsolvable puzzle. Each group was allowed
to snack from only one plate while instructed to solve the puzzle.
The
hypothesis was that the radish group would spend less time struggling with the
puzzle because they would expend willpower needed to work on the puzzle on
resisting the cookies.
According
to the study’s findings, their hypothesis was confirmed. The radish-eating
group spent only eight minutes working on the puzzle, whereas the cooking-eating
group spent nineteen minutes.
The
study concluded that the radish-eaters had experienced ego depletion because of
additional use of will power used up by resisting the homemade cookies. But
is that what really happened?
In
2011, researcher Braumeister and John Tierney wrote the best-selling book Willpower:
Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, which explained the concept of
ego depletion. The take home point was that sugar (glucose) restores willpower,
self-control and stamina.
A Closer Look
But
not everyone was so easily convinced. Upon replicating the study, other
scientists determined that Baumeister’s conclusions about ego depletion were
not accurate.
Willpower,
they found, was not so limited as we thought.
Further
research on the subject also did not come to Baumeister’s conclusion. Many
scientists now doubt Baumeister’s theory of ego depletion.
Furthermore,
the idea that sugar increases willpower has been discredited. Recent
discoveries revealed that the brain uses the same number of calories regardless
of the task at hand.
So,
if sugar is the key to willpower, why are employers not providing their workers
with endless sugary treats to increase productivity?
You Decide if Your Willpower is Limited
It
is now accepted that the original theory of ego-depletion is untrue, and new
explanations have arisen, giving a different explanation as to why we lack
willpower in certain scenarios.
Carol
Dweck, author of the popular book Mindset, recently found that people
who believe that willpower can be depleted proved their belief to be right.
Those who did not see willpower as having limits did not display ego
depletion.
Dweck’s
findings reinforced the concept that belief and behavior go hand in hand.
Eating sugary foods makes us feel better for a while. This is a placebo effect
that gives us the feeling that we can work a bit longer.
It
should be noted that perpetuating the idea that willpower can be used up can do
real harm. People who are taught this theory will quit when they think that
their willpower is gone, rather than believing they simply need to believe
their willpower is there for them whenever they need it.
“I
have willpower and determination. I am very resilient, like rock.” – Carnie
Wilson
How to Think About Your Own Willpower
This
is an exciting time to be alive. If, in fact, we believe that we have the will
to push through circumstance, we actually can. It turns out that the old
aphorism “If there’s a will, there’s a way” has a kernel of truth.
The
best way to think about willpower, then, is that it’s akin to emotion. In the
same way that we don’t run out of joy, willpower fluctuates based on what is
happening in our lives and how we feel about it.
In
the same way that we can keep our emotions under control, willpower can be
trained and managed using a variety of mental exercises. If mental energy
operates like emotions, it can be managed with the use of self-control. When we
need to stay on task, it is healthier to believe that a lack of motivation is
merely temporary than to indulge ourselves in sugary foods.
Just
as we take cues from our emotions, we should pay attention to what our
willpower is telling us. When we experience a chronic lack of mental energy, we
should be examining what we are forcing ourselves to spend time doing. If a job
requires constant willpower to complete, maybe we are in the wrong job.
By
the same token, when we enjoy our work and find it interesting and exciting,
willpower does not need to be summonsed. We remain energetic without the
artificial and temporary crutch of sugar or other stimulants. We do not put
willpower to the test by fighting the temptation to divert our attention to
entertainment.
Essentially,
we give up on tasks that are not interesting to us. Spending time working on an
unsolvable puzzle in a laboratory environment does not spur us on to greater
accomplishments. Similarly, boring daily work requires willpower to keep us
going.
A
better plan is to listen to our struggling willpower telling us that the work
at hand is not interesting or satisfying. Our emotions will line up with this
message by telling us that there are no enjoyable, exciting feelings when doing
the work.
“The
achievements of willpower are almost beyond computation. Scarcely anything
seems impossible to the man who can will strongly enough and long enough.” – Orison
SwettMarden
Closing Thoughts
Calling
on willpower until it is strained to the breaking point is a wake-up call that
we should a close look at how we are spending our time.
Willpower
is sending a harmonizing message to the miserable emotions we are feeling that
something is just not right and we should either summons self-control to get
the work done or decide it is time to find a different job.
