A WILLPOWER BUDGET.

A WILLPOWER BUDGET. The article on will power that I posted on yesterday says that at any one time the brain has a fixed amount of willpower. The authors, Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, speak of a person having a limited willpower budget which he or she needs to spend wisely. Economists think in terms of maximizing utility from a fixed amount of income—a budget. There are always trade offs to be considered and a person can substitute one commodity for another. The same thinking can be applied to willpower: “If you need to study for a big exam, it might be smart to let the housecleaning slide to conserve your willpower for the more important job.”