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We never seem to have enough time. We have our work, things we need to get done at home, taking care of the kids, and various other tasks that need to be done.

With all that we have to do, it seems that we can never catch up. We feel like we are running on a treadmill without much control over our lives. However, there is some good news. There are ways to get out in front of your life, to find the time to get the important stuff done.

You might think that the solution involves some kind of ascetic discipline, the willpower of a long-distance runner. But that is not the case. As a matter of fact, getting things done actually involves using less of your willpower, just using it more judiciously.

Our store of willpower is finite. There is only a certain amount of it to go around, according to research. As we use it up, there is less of it for later on. For example, if you use it to avoid that big bowl of ice cream and have a low-fat dessert instead, that depletes the amount you have. As we use our willpower, there is less in store for other acts of self-control.

So, to accomplish the things you need to do, the key is to use less of your willpower. And you do this by developing rituals or routines, what we refer to commonly as habits. These are specific activities that we do at set times during the day. So, by doing these activities at the same time every day, they become in a sense automatic, and as a result, require less willpower.

Psychologists compare this kind of activity to the performance of great athletes. They have practiced their sport for so long and so intensely, that their performance is pretty much automatic. It doesn’t require much thought, because their performance is ingrained in their neural pathways.

An example of this type of routine would be turning in for the night at the same time every day. Another would be exercising as soon as you get up in the morning, or after work. Or it could be thinking about the first thing you will do at work the next day before you get into bed.

The amazing thing about a routine or ritual activity is that it seems to take on a life of its own once you begin doing it regularly, something completely apart from your willpower to get it done.

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