{"id":2585,"date":"2012-10-08T05:25:24","date_gmt":"2012-10-08T12:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=2585"},"modified":"2018-04-03T08:20:17","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:20:17","slug":"why-you-are-lazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/08\/why-you-are-lazy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You’re Lazy (and How to Fix It)"},"content":{"rendered":"

After spending a year working through MIT\u2019s computer science<\/a> curriculum independently, I\u2019ve gotten quite a few comments from people claiming I must have extraordinary self-discipline. I let that vanity sink in a bit, but then remember I procrastinated for a week to pack for my last trip, ending up doing it all last minute.<\/p>\n

The truth is, for someone with supposedly exceptional willpower, I do a lot of very lazy things. I haven\u2019t transferred my driver\u2019s license, even after moving over a year ago. I had a growing pile of junk because I didn\u2019t take 15 minutes to buy a new filing organizer. Even this website uses a sloppy redirect<\/a> after more than 6 years.<\/p>\n

Maybe those are just minor things, and thus I\u2019m justifiably lazy with them. But in any case, if I am disciplined and proactive it\u2019s definitely not universal.<\/p>\n

After having done my latest challenge, I feel sticking through a 4-year degree program requires more discipline. After all, I only had to dedicate one year of my life, not four (or more).<\/p>\n

Discipline is in the Context<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a common psychological bias known as fundamental attribution error<\/a>. It\u2019s the false belief that explains behaviors in terms of personality traits, instead of the context of those behaviors.<\/p>\n

When a person slacks off, we say they\u2019re a lazy person. But that might not be the case. It might be that, in their context, almost anyone would have acted similarly. The error is to attribute this behavior to something fundamental about the person, instead of the context.<\/p>\n

My ability to stick to a one-year self-education project, but inability to get my license transferred seems contradictory. After all, either I\u2019m a fundamentally disciplined or lazy person. Perhaps, instead, the context matters a lot more than we realize.<\/p>\n

How You Can Change the Context to Change Your Willpower<\/h2>\n

The key is to make small decisions that drastically reduce the future willpower required for all future decisions. Odysseus wasn\u2019t supernaturally willed to resist the sirens, he just had the foresight to chain himself beforehand.<\/p>\n

Next time you embark on a goal or project, use these tricks to get more from your limited supply of willpower:<\/p>\n

1. Give it a Name<\/h3>\n

One of the best things I did to help me finish my MIT Challenge was to call it \u201cThe MIT Challenge\u201d. There\u2019s nothing unique or creative about it, but by taking a vague and ambiguous desire to learn more about computer science, and turning it into a concrete mission, I dramatically boosted my ability to stick with it.<\/p>\n

Many personal goals fail because they lack formal structure. They feel flimsy, so people treat them that way. By building up a mission around your goal, you can turn it into something solid enough for you to latch onto.<\/p>\n

2. Stop Doing So Much<\/h3>\n

The discipline to finish a project is generally the discipline to not do other things. Many goals fail, not because they\u2019re too difficult, but because they\u2019re too difficult to do simultaneously with other goals.<\/p>\n

While working on my challenge, I didn\u2019t take on any other goal. No new business projects. No resolutions to eat better or exercise more. No binding commitments to try new hobbies or sports. Those things weren\u2019t disallowed, but I wasn\u2019t allowed to commit to anything else.<\/p>\n

3. Automate the First 5%<\/h3>\n

Want to start flossing? Stanford researcher, B.J. Fogg<\/a> found the best way is to commit only to flossing one tooth.<\/p>\n

At first, this might sound ridiculous. After all, what good is flossing one tooth? But the idea is that flossing one tooth is really easy, and almost nobody will stop flossing after only finishing the first tooth.<\/p>\n

It turns out many behaviors are like this, which have a trigger which is relatively easy to perform, but cascades effort to the rest of the behavior. If you can establish the trigger as a habit, the rest will follow:<\/p>\n