Why I Always Take the Same Route: Process as a Proxy for Motivation
The author explains how predefined rules and processes can replace the need for constant motivation. By deciding in advance to take a specific route or to use train time productively, he eliminates decision fatigue and achieves his goals more easily. He argues that abstract goals like 'study more' are hard to achieve, but concrete processes make them automatic, citing Agile and Scrum as examples from software development.
Instead of needing to find motivation and act on it, you can cut out the tricky bit, and just be left with an action.
- senkora
This is a really well-written short article, and I agree with it completely.
I just wanted to add as well that, as someone who has read quite a lot of books on self-help and productivity, there is one that makes a lot of similar points: "Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be"
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22544758-triggers
I recommend it to anyone who agrees with this article and feels like a book-length treatment of similar ideas would be helpful to them.
- Pawenniag
I think the strongest version of this idea is that process is basically a way of spending willpower once instead of repeatedly
- nlawalker
> Both of these examples demonstrate a process, or a decision made in advance
A decision made in advance is not a process. Unlike all the other real-world examples of committed processes in the article, premade decisions don't require discipline - the actual substitute for motivation - to execute in a meaningful way that ensures actual progress.