Willpower will fail you. Systems are the real secret to winning at work and life

I told myself I won’t check emails until I check off my “one thing” to do for the day. I couldn’t do it. I always reach for the phone in the morning. Willpower wasn’t enough. The brain is wired to take the path of least resistance. Fighting it every day with willpower won’t work. These days I use systems. I work with rituals. I get my most important tasks (MIT) done between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

I schedule my MIT’s the night before. And get straight to work at the scheduled time. Ninety percent of the time at the same place.