The Motivation Hacker

by Nick Winter

Impulsiveness Impulsiveness is your susceptibility to delay for a given task: how likely you are to put it off and do something more pressing. Limiting Impulsiveness often means getting rid of the options to do other things. • Precommitment. Choose now to limit your later options, preventing yourself from making the wrong choice in the face of temptation. • Burnt Ships. A specific form of precommitment where you disable, remove, or destroy a distraction or temptation. • Goal Reminders. Make external reminders of your goals visible, and actually look at them. Avoid failing at your goals just because you forgot about them. • Timeboxing. Place limits on the time allowed to perform a given task, the shorter, the better. It’s easier to ignore distractions when you know you can’t finish your task if you give into them, and that you only have to focus on your task for a short time. • Build Useful Habits. Make an autopilot schedule for yourself and put your goals into it, or add goals to existing routines. • Schedule Play Before Work. Plan times to have as much fun as you can—this leads to more efficient recreation, and it also lets you focus on your goals during the other times, rather than just having low-grade leisure constantly tempting you as an option. Play hard.