Willpower
by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney
Baumeister's research on self-control as a limited resource, told with Tierney: ego depletion, glucose, decision fatigue, and the strategies that help, precommitment, monitoring, routines. The depletion research has suffered in replication, and the book predates that. The practical advice, reduce the number of decisions and build habits, still holds.
Read it if…
you want the classic account of willpower and can hold the science loosely.
Skip it if…
you want current research; parts of the model have been questioned.
Three things you will actually use
- Automate routine choices.
- Monitor what you want to control; tracking works.
- Precommit when you are strong for when you are weak.
Do this first
Remove three recurring decisions from your morning by deciding them once tonight.
Our verdict
Readable and partly outdated; the tactics outlive the theory.
Compare with other Habits books
The Willpower Instinct
Kelly McGonigal · Habits
Practical, humane and well-structured; the better willpower book.
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The Marshmallow Test
Walter Mischel · Habits
Thoughtful and corrective; the study, explained by its author.
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Scarcity Brain
Michael Easter · Habits
Engaging and insightful; a good explanation of why 'just one more' never ends.
CLICK TO SEEBrowse all Habits book reviews or get the free Reality Code Cheat Sheet.
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