Self-Control Mega-Thread

[martins name]

This is such a foundational topic for personal development, philosophy and the experience of being human. I think a mega thread for the topic is appropriate.

Here are some categories to discuss:

• Psychological tips and tricks and tactics for self-control
• Scheduling. It's the main strategy for self-control. What are good principles for scheduling?
• Why do we resist self-control and how do we listen to the wisdom in that resistance?

We all have ways we relate to these topics. What works well for you?

[martins name]

I'll go first. 
I was prompted to start this thread when I had insights this morning on why I resist scheduling, which tends to lead me to have low self-control and drift into procrastination.
The problem is that I tend to schedule too rigidly and there is wisdom in resisting that rigidity. This calls for better principles in schedule-making.

There are times when we are capable of strategic thinking and there are times when we only have the mental capacity to follow a premade plan. The fundamental reason why scheduling is important is so that the times when we are not in a state of strategizing we still live in the structure that we made ourselves in the state of good strategizing. Those moments of weakness are in every time our attention drifts and we start scrolling social media aimlessly. 
Some rules for scheduling to honor previous insight:

• We only get to remake our plans when we are in a strategic mind state.
• Allow some flexibility when not in strategic mind state but not too much. Find balance. Pet all cute puppies!
• If a strong impulse comes up to do something else and it seems like a good impulse, honor the wisdom of that impulse by considering it from the strategic mindset. Only change plans if you successfully go into the strategic mindset.
• Don't spend time that isn't strategized.
• You have to allow yourself to strategize for pleasure. Work hard play hard. Rejecting scheduling pleasure only leads to seeking pleasure in unintegrated ways where we lie to ourselves about the limits of our self-control. Don't rule yourself as a tyrant but as a loving friend.
• Use outlines(schedule holarcically) to avoid rigidity. Don't plan the whole day in detail. Start with the big-picture outline as a guideline and fill in smaller outlines and tasks as the day goes. Again only fill in the smaller details when you are in the strategic mindset. Big outlines are allowed to be changed when you are in the strategic mindset.

Edited May 7, 2024 by martins name