How to Win 100 Percent of the Battles You Don’t Fight

We’ve all been there. It’s midnight and we know we should get some rest before the busy week, but somehow we can’t stop watching TikToks. Or we made that New Year’s resolution to get in shape by spring break and yet when the time comes to go to the gym, we just can’t quite pull it together. Why does this happen, again and again?

The heart of this problem lies in our conflicting desires. Part of us wants to just chill, but another part of us wants us to be doing something productive. Certainly, listening to the easy-going voice is sometimes appropriate. But in other situations, where we will be glad if we are able to get in shape or ace that class, how can we beat temptation and be our best selves?

One solution is to just grit our teeth and use our (will)power to battle through the temptation. Be the monk who meditates while experiencing extreme hunger. This approach has its advantages: Research suggests that exercising willpower more frequently leads to greater willpower in the long run, just like training a muscle. The data also show that people with more willpower tend to live better lives, from improved health to higher self-esteem and greater financial security. So, next time you’re tempted, just use your willpower. Duh!

Not so fast. There are times when willpower is not enough, whether it’s because our willpower is depleted because we exhausted it in other situations, or even just because we slept badly. We might also not want to use our mental energy on routine challenges such as going to bed on time or eating healthy because we know we will need that willpower later on to overcome other, more important temptations.

The solution is systemization: To invest mental energy now, when we are not tempted, in order to put in place systems that free our future selves from facing the temptation at all. By thoughtfully crafting the environment we make choices in, we can avoid having to use our willpower, at least for choices we face regularly. Eventually, we will become so used to these environments and the good choices they help us make that what was once an effortful battle becomes habitual. If fighting temptation is the battle, the systematization solution is to, in fact, not fight all … and still win.

Taking time to build a system to avoid temptation is most useful when the temptation is particularly strong and when the potential gains from resisting it are large. Systematization can also be particularly valuable for situations that take place frequently, such as our daily morning routines.

While there are no universal systems that everyone should adopt, there are some examples that are likely helpful for most of us. For instance, to avoid spending time on your phone in bed (which is bad not least for your quality of sleep), it might help to have your phone charger at your desk — away from your bed. Instead of relying on your tempted future self to make the right decision, this setup allows you to avoid the temptation altogether. An even stronger system would be to turn your phone all the way off when you enter your dorm room for the night.

Another situation many of us struggle with is eating healthy given the vast array of unlimited food in the dining halls. One approach to this problem could be to make a habit out of eating a plate of salad before taking any other food. Of course, not buying unhealthy snacks to keep in your dorm room is a great strategy as well. Without unhealthy food readily available, it becomes much easier to resist late-night cravings. Bonus points for finding healthy snacks that help satisfy the craving while also providing the nourishment your body needs.

Good systems like these require little or no mental energy to follow in the moment. By channeling our everyday lives, they allow us to attend to the things that really matter instead of fighting ourselves.

The next time you find yourself tempted but know you really should be doing something else, take two minutes to come up with a system that will help you avoid the temptation in the first place. Your future self will thank you for it, I promise.

Jonas A. G. Nelle ’21, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a special concentrator in Rationality in Eliot House.