How do you keep track of things that require willpower?

[Bob]

Because willpower takes up... "willpower reserve."  There's only so much per day/time period.  Once you're out, it's much more difficult.

How do you keep track of something.....

Habit.  Because it becomes effortless after a while.


Reminders.  Like an alarm.


Automatic tracking.... possibly.


To establish a habit, start small and easy.  Effortless. 


Paper lists.  List on a computer.  Calendars, checking things off.  Checklists....


Any other ideas?

[Bob]

Although it's essentially...
Remembering to do something.
Actually doing it.
Keeping track of it.

If it's mindless (habit) it doesn't require as much effort.

[chopin2015]

Will power-something you are willing to do, you want to do. You find it beneficial. You need to do it because it is better for you than the circumstances of not doing it.

[ted]

I write a list of duties, either in my diary or on a piece of paper kept face-up on my diary. By duties, I do not mean habituated household tasks, those do not need reminders, but irregular, important events which I might forget. Although urgent tasks would be included, most of the list comprises jobs which are not urgent but need attention sooner or later, and it might as well be sooner. I use the same technique, but on a different piece of paper, for a shopping list, to which I add items as soon as I think of them and cross them off when they are bought.

As I invariably use my diary every day I am reminded of duties until I carry them out and cross them off the list. Computers, alarms and the like are unnecessary for me. My son practically lives on his phone, computer, iPad and so on, and uses all manner of time management software for anything from budgets to exercise, to absolutely no avail. His energy goes into using the software instead of doing the tasks. Simple methods are best.

[chopin2015]

Good idea. Things that require will power aren't necessarily random, though. They are probably events that need special planning in regards to things you have to accomplish (you said little tasks) before you can actually take care of the big thing completely. Like, you want to run a marathon, but you have not ran many, and have not been training right. So, what you need to do is get a trainer that is experienced with marathons and training for them, train asap on your own time, scope what past winners are like...etc

 I want to enter a competition soon. But to be in competitions, you have to have a resume. I gotta update my resume, if you catch my drift. Also, competitions have set reps sometimes, or rep guidelines to follow. So, I gotta work on the rep. Then on a presentation for the app. So...it just depends on the situation. What's your situation?

[Bob]

I was thinking for exercising.

But then I'm thinking I've got other things during the day that are still taking up my attention -- Practicing, other projects, other exercising things that aren't what I focusing on today....  There's probably time for it all, but I'm out of brain power.

[ted]

So...it just depends on the situation. What's your situation?

Whose situation, mine or Bob's ? Is this issue to do with music ? I had assumed Bob meant general duties, not arising voluntarily, and requiring some sort of effort which he was inclined to postpone. We might be talking about two entirely different things. I have an abundance of willpower for music, or anything I really like, no matter how difficult. I don't need diaries for that; it will happen one way or another.

[hfmadopter]

Whose situation, mine or Bob's ? Is this issue to do with music ? I had assumed Bob meant general duties, not arising voluntarily, and requiring some sort of effort which he was inclined to postpone. We might be talking about two entirely different things. I have an abundance of willpower for music, or anything I really like, no matter how difficult. I don't need diaries for that; it will happen one way or another.

How I look at is will power being needed for the dreaded things you really don't want to do. Often a task that you like doing will have some aspect within it that takes will power to get through because that aspect is something you don't enjoy. It can be for common tasks as well, like cutting the grass for instance. I used to hate it in every aspect but the final result. Now owning the lawn tractor it now takes little will power to go out and do it. However, servicing the tractor takes a lot of will power , for instance.

After nearly 43 years with the same job it now takes extra will power on Monday mornings to even get up, knowing that I still have to go there and the list of tasks has gotten longer rather than shorter. I told my daughter that my latest fear is I will one day be 97 living in a nursing home and I'll still be getting up on Mondays to go to that job !

Building wall clocks is a hobby of mine. I build them from solid rough hard woods, usually Cherry, Oak or Maple and plane that down to a fine smooth surface etc etc. In every single clock I ever built there has come some aspect that I don't want to tackle, always a different feature in each one. I have to literally drag myself to the basement for a few minutes per day to get through that one stage, what ever that stage might be. Lately it's just ordering the mechanical movements, getting exactly what you want these days is getting more difficult. It takes will power to pick up the phone and make some calls about it because you just know this isn't going to be fun. Getting the wood has gotten easier, we have several suppliers in the area now, it's a joy to go pick out the wood.

I seem to bog out on the oddest things these days. I built the stand for my digital piano. I made it out of Birch cabinet grade ply. I have enough left from the sheet to build a second one and the cost of the sheet was half that of a bought press board stand from a music store. But I bogged out for two days building this thing because I couldn't decide if I wanted flush plugs or rounded top plugs for the screw holes. It took will power first to decide between Maple and Birch, then to just grab one plug or the other. Ridiculous ! This whole project went on for weeks before I had the materials. For a while there I was going to buy hard wood and totally build it from scratch like a clock.

I'm 63, I have no clue how bad this will get by the time I'm 73. It sure is worse now than when I was 43 though.

[pianist1976]

I always take a Moleskine notebook and a ball pen with me everywhere. I try to write on it everything I can: to do lists (including chores and tedious tasks as well as gratifying ones), projects, appointments... I use it as a diary, as schedule...

I know we live in XXI Century and many people use tablets and smart phones to do this task but I must be a romantic, I just love that thing...

Of course I can't do such amazing things as many people do with their notebooks:

https://www.google.es/search?um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&q=moleskine+artwork

[Bob]

If I schedule everything.... Budget some time to mentally zone out and stick an alarm on to bring me back to the schedule.

[arensky]

Just do them. Or hire someone else to do them 

[lostinidlewonder]

We can so easily get trapped into a daily routine and follow the same cycles day in and out. It is important to take yourself out of your routine and put yourself into new environments. Taking physical action as well as mental works together wonderfully when dealing with things that require willpower. If you sit in the same place and try to think your way into doing something it is not as effective as actively taking yourself out of your routine and into different situation which will enhance your willpower.

[kakeithewolf]

This greatly confuses me. When did willpower become a finite resource?

[Bob]

You can use it up.  If you force yourself to do something or focus on something each day, you run out of that after a while.  It's like working a muscle.  It wears out.  You have to wait for it to recover.  You can strengthen it though by using it.

[kakeithewolf]

Again, that greatly confuses me. Such a thing is foreign to me, as it has not occurred to me. I didn't know it was even possible. My body gets tired with ease, but my mind lacks the ability to become fatigued, to my chagrin.

[j_menz]

You can use it up. 

Borrow some of mine. Never been touched.

[chopin2015]

You can use it up.  If you force yourself to do something or focus on something each day, you run out of that after a while.  It's like working a muscle.  It wears out.  You have to wait for it to recover.  You can strengthen it though by using it.

And sometimes other oeople or things use the energy up, too. Energy needs to build up over time and you need to create many secret stashes of energy for emergency situations! You would be like a thunder cloud!