How to overcome the effect of akrazii and always follow the plan

In 1829, the famous French writer Victor Hugo, has signed a contract with a publisher to create a book called "Notre Dame de Paris." However, instead of working on the product, Hugo doing other projects, entertaining guests and postponed indefinitely the novel. The publisher was extremely disappointed with the constant delays and set a hard deadline. He demanded that Hugo finished the book by February 1831.

The writer was a plan of action, this time to meet the deadline. He gathered all his clothes, carried her out of the room and closed the castle, leaving himself only bulk shawl. Now he did not have the right outfit to go out into the world: the only thing he was writing, and nothing to distract him.

As a result, Hugo worked on the novel tirelessly all fall and winter 1830. The book "Notre Dame de Paris" was published January 14, 1831 for 2 weeks before the end of the deadline set by the publisher.
The history of the phenomenon akrazii

People are by nature lazy and like to postpone everything to the "later". Even successful creative figures as Victor Hugo, often distracted from their work. This problem has always existed, so the Greek philosophers, Socrates and Aristotle even invented a special term for this phenomenon: akraziya (akrasia).

Akraziey called such a state, when we act in opposition to his intentions. For example, when you do anything, though well aware that you need to do now is something quite different. If translated literally, the akraziya - a habit of putting off all the last day or a lack of willpower. Ultimately, akraziya impede the execution of your plans.
Why do we make plans, but nothing is done?

One explanation for why we are used to delay everything in "later" is a phenomenon called "temporary contradiction." The essence of this phenomenon lies in the fact that the human brain tends to evaluate the short-term results are more highly than future success.

When you make any plans for yourself - for example, to lose weight, write a book or learn a foreign language - you are, in fact, planning to yourself in the future. You draw in your mind is what will be your life, and at that point your brain is easy to feel the need to take any action.

However, when it comes time for decisive action, you do not make a choice in favor of themselves in the future. You are now in the present, and your brain analyzes your current condition. All researchers agree that the man at the moment it takes a momentary satisfaction, rather than delayed gratification. This is one reason why we go to bed determined to change his life, and in the morning we wake up and we continue to do things the old way. Our brain is able to assess the bright prospects when we think about the future. But when it comes to real actions in the present, we need immediate positive results.

That's why the ability to "postpone the fun for later" determines your chances of success. Understanding how you can resist the temptation to get instant changes will help you bridge the gap between who you are and who you want to become.

The ability to "postpone the fun for later" determines your chances of success

3 ways to overcome the desire to postpone indefinitely plans

Here are three ways how to overcome the effect of akrazii and always follow the plan.
Method №1: Method of self-restraint

When Victor Hugo locked all her clothes at the castle, he used a technique that psychologists call a method of restraint. This strategy helps you to work on their behavior, increasing the number of barriers separating you from the undesirable effects.

You can curb your appetite, buying products in individual packaging, not by weight. You will be easier to stop wasting time, buried in the phone if you remove it from all games and applications with social networks. You can reduce the number of hours spent watching TV, simply remove it in the closet and taking it out only to view important transfers. You can easily save money for a "rainy day", if you configure automatic translation into a savings account. All of these are examples of the method of self-restraint.

The circumstances may be different, but the essence is the same: self-restraint will allow you to design your actions in the future. Find a way to influence your behavior, rather than to rely on your willpower. Be the architect of your own behavior, rather than its victim.
Method №2: Cease to be afraid to start doing something

Feelings of guilt and frustration of thwarted the planned deadlines are usually stronger than the force required for the work itself. According to Eliezer Yudkowsky: "If you are just in the middle of the intended path, then it is less painful than the feeling that you are hopelessly tighten the timing of the plans».

But why do we still continue to delay the case on the back burner? Because it is very difficult to start. Once a start, it becomes much easier to work with. That is why it is important to form a habit to start to operate as soon as you have in mind to carry out something important.

Direct all your energy on it, to form a ritual that allows you to easily get started. Do not worry about the results as long as your efforts do not become a habit.
Method №3: schedule

You need to program certain actions at a certain time? Then be very specific, for example: "I will do fitness, at least 30 minutes on December 30 in front of the fitness club at 12.00».

There are many studies on how drawing a clear schedule affects the realization of our plans. For example, in one study, experts observed the 3272 employees of the company, which had to be vaccinated against flu. It was noted that those who had planned to be vaccinated for a particular day, still made it.
Fighting effect akrazii

Our brain prefers short-term results - it is simply a feature of human consciousness. So we have to go to any conceivable tricks to achieve this goal.

In the writings of Aristotle, you can also find the term "enkratiya" that is the opposite of akrazii. Akraziya related to our inclination to delay the case indefinitely, while enkratiya involves self-discipline and "power over." Using the method of self-restraint, to stop being afraid "clean slate" and making the schedule for the near future, you will be able to develop their self-discipline and stop being a victim of the effect akrazii.

According to the materials: jamesclear.com
Translation: lpgenerator.