I read a fascinating article in the New York Times earlier in the month about willpower, “Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind,” in the context of changing spending habits in a worsening economy. Here are some excerpts:

“The brain has a limited capacity for self-regulation, so exerting willpower in one area often leads to backsliding in others. The good news, however, is that practice increases willpower capacity, so that in the long run, buying less now may improve our ability to achieve future goals.
…
“The brain’s store of willpower is depleted when people control their thoughts, feelings or impulses, or when they modify their behavior in pursuit of goals. Psychologist Roy Baumeister and others have found that people who successfully accomplish one task requiring self-control are less persistent on a second, seemingly unrelated task.
…
“Focusing on success is important because willpower can grow in the long term. Like a muscle, willpower seems to become stronger with use. The idea of exercising willpower is seen in military boot camp, where recruits are trained to overcome one challenge after another.”

This totally makes sense to me. I find that if I complete one task toward writing my paper—for example, reading an article—I can hardly bring myself to keep going and read a second article, or make notes, or work on my outline. After reading this, I realize that it is not really fair of me to kick myself for not powering through. On the other hand, I should be aware of this tendency to fag out and should take steps to train my willpower in this area.