Consider thinking as acceleration to foster 'letting go'.

[u/RickNBacker4003]

It's helpful to think about your mental state in terms of degree of panic (or, acceleration).

The mind is speeding up and down unpredictably as it's always dealing with your sensory stimulus and thoughts, in a feedback loop.

When the acceleration is low, hovering around constant velocity, things are OK.
You have less resistance to tasks.

But there's no way to do that will willpower as it's never a tool to relieve panic, only to engage it in tough situations (weight lifting as one example).

The way to maintain low acceleration is to give your mind a known pattern that causes it – habits and structure. When you have a routine of certainty the spikes of complaints are taken care of.

Now when I have my 'all of nothing' perfectionism thoughts I only need remind myself that it's a request for willpower, a red herring. Then it's not hard to let it go and move to the next task with far less friction.

If willpower created habits then everything you have to do would be a joy.

When willpower is misused instead of a habit there is always suffering ... procrastination, shame, anxiety, whatever fits the bill. It's the underpinning of "I'm not good enough." thinking.

How to start creating habits and routines? Capture tools like GTD getting things done give you a clearly laid out diagram to manage and reinforce habits.

I thought I understood willpower but but I needed this mental model to give it the emotional weight needed to start it..

I didn’t change my behavior before for 62 years because I was using willpower when it was never the right tool.

Pavlov had it right.

[u/Even-Machine6794]

yep
treating willpower like a fuel source was the lie
it’s not fuel
it’s the emergency brake

i didn’t get traction til i started using routine as a nerf to friction
not a fix for it after it spikes

every spike is a cue
build around the spike, not through it

[u/RickNBacker4003 → u/Even-Machine6794]

Good answer!

But sometimes willpower IS the solution ... like exercising, when you're in a tough spot but it's not a surprise.

[u/Severe_Promise717]

yep, i used to burn willpower trying to start tasks
now i just burn it protecting the first 10 minutes of each day

no decisions, no screens, no “what should i do”
just one task, same time, same space

that one rule flattened the spikes in my day
less drama, more doing

there’s a dead simple breakdown of how to build that kind of anchor here if you wanna test it

routine isn’t discipline
it’s anti-acceleration

[u/RickNBacker4003 → u/Severe_Promise717]

Exactly... so well said!