Both you and I are wishing it was already our holiday vacation. So it’s taking extra willpower to get through our work day. Which has made me wonder, is it possible to find extra willpower?

Sorry, but the research points to “no.”

Roy F. Baumeister—a PhD holder and social psychologist at Florida State University—has been hardcore researching self-control. His research has convinced him that…

Willpower is a limited resource

For instance, in one study, his team invited some students to eat a few cookies. They asked another group to resist the baked goods. That poor second group was given radishes instead, which feels extra harsh. Like, why not give them carrots or something?

Anyway, after their snacks, they gave all the students these impossible geometry puzzles (again, harsh). The cookie eaters found the gumption to work on the puzzles for a whole 20 minutes. But the radish group gave up after an average of eight.

Our guy Roy says, “Many studies have found that people perform relatively poorly on tests of self-control when they have engaged in a previous, seemingly unrelated act of self-control.”

Watch out because decision-making in general can deplete our self-control

“After making decisions, people perform worse at self-control,” Dr. Roy says. He’s also observed that after using self-control, people make poorer choices or avoid decision making altogether.

Are you catching the moral of the story? You gotta use up your will-power and decision-making juice strategically. Here are some ideas.

Work on the biggest, baddest willpower item for an hour or two before the real day hits

Maybe your typical routine involves working out or getting your kid to daycare before you even start work. If those things dip into your willpower jar, then you might struggle with that big work project you wanted to tackle. Plan to work on that big, bad project for a bit before you hit the gym or before your kid wakes up. Or at least first thing in your work day.

Keep your glucose levels steady

Baumeister and his former student accidentally found a connection between glucose levels and self-control. Their tests ended up proving it. He says, “Acts of self-control reduce blood glucose levels. Low levels of glucose predict poor performance on self-control tasks and tests.”

So, don’t skip lunch to get working on that big, bad project. Don’t pre-game for the big, bad project with a few donuts (and then crash a while later). Go back to the basics and eat a balanced meal with whole grains, veggies, and some protein.

It’s worth pushing through the pain

While your day’s worth of willpower is a limited resource, you can work to increase your typical day’s willpower supply.

Just keep training those self-control muscles. The more you work ‘em, the bigger they’ll get. (This is not my uninformed guess, it’s what the PhD’s research has shown.)

It’s not easy work, but Dr. Roy makes a case for it.

We spoke to Asha Davis, Head of Integrated Brand/ Comms Strategy at Snap Inc. about successful campaigns. We learned that success doesn’t just depend on the metrics but on how our work changes the world. While striving for success, Asha teaches us how to put ourselves before our work and maintain a healthy balance in our lives.

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