The Future and the Will: Planning requires self-control, and ego depletion leads to planning aversion

Planning is a future-directed thought process that is highly beneficial, but it requires mental effort. Informed by the strength model of self-regulation, four studies (N = 546) tested the hypothesis that willingness to plan is linked to good self-control. A correlational study (N = 201) found that people high in trait self-control had done more planning than other people and also intended to make more plans during the upcoming week. A laboratory experiment (N = 105) induced a state of ego depletion (i.e., impaired self-control) by having some participants continuously break pre-established motoric habits, and afterward these participants were less willing to make plans for the next four weeks than control participants. A field experiment (N = 112) used a naturally occurring induction of decision fatigue (IKEA shopping) and again found that ego depletion reduced planning. Specifically, fatigued shoppers exiting the store expressed more reluctance to make long-term plans than shoppers who were just arriving at the store. A final laboratory experiment (N = 128) found that ego-depleted participants were only half as likely to choose a planning task as control participants, and identified effort avoidance as a mediator mechanism. Crucially, the three experimental manipulations were longer and stronger than the 5-min depletion tasks often used in previous research (24 min; 2 h; 30 min), and manipulation checks confirmed severe and significant ego depletion. Depletion had no effects on aspirational goals or the desire to relax. We conclude that wants and desires come easily, while planning requires mental work akin to self-control. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.