The Akrasia Effect: How to Overcome Your Resistance Brain

While the much-hyped motivation and willpower have little effect against Akrasia, mindfulness meditation has the power to refocus your actions, and stop the mindless time-wasting.

Mindfulness acts as a foundation for conquering procrastination. We need to proactively take control of our feelings and act towards our goals, something which is possible only with a mind sharpened with mindfulness.

When we listen to our bodies and find out how it behaves on a daily basis, we come to know its peak periods along with the periods of lull, which help us organize our tasks and activities in better alignment with the body.

When we learn to delay the gratification that we seek instantly, we see a macro view of our life and can visualize where we stand, and where we want to be.

Our brain will continuously sabotage our efforts, but if we push past the resistance intentionally, we find that it was just a paper wall, which we can easily overcome.

According to author James Clear, getting started reduces the friction and sets you up for further accomplishments. Without worrying about results, we simply need to focus on making a regular effort and getting started on it no matter what.

Example: Not exercising is less likely once we are at the gym, but is more likely if we are still in bed.