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Controlling the Controllables: Make Progress by Impacting What You Can Change

Each day, humans have a finite amount of energy they can expend. A process to enhance productive change and prioritize daily energy use is “controlling the controllables,” which is identifying the parts of a task that you can influence. By recognizing the control you have, you can prioritize your actions, efforts and behaviors to change what is within your control. On the surface, a long list of daily to-dos can seem overwhelming. But by simplifying the tasks down to what is within your control and the actions you can take, you will relieve your anxiety and remove any paralysis to tackling priorities. This process allows you to be more intentional and deliberate in your actions and, thus, be productive when undertaking daily tasks and meeting demands and goals.

Research on human motivation has identified three basic psychological needs we all have: competence, autonomy and relatedness. The need for autonomy refers to people’s desire to feel like they have control within their environment and have a say. You can feed your need for autonomy by engaging in the process of controlling the controllables, which then promotes more intrinsic motivation—that is, motivation coming from within yourself—to accomplish daily tasks.

What You Can Do About It

  1. 1.Make a list of your high-priority tasks. Try to be as specific as possible about the task at hand (for example, “soldiering” versus preparing for the Army Combat Fitness Test, or parenting versus teaching a child to read).
  2. 2. Draw a chart with two boxes: “Controllable” and “Uncontrollable.” Choose one specific task to work through.
  3. 3. In the box marked “Controllable,” identify all components of the task that you can influence and control.
  4. 4. In the box marked “Uncontrollable,” identify all components of the task that are beyond your control.
  5. 5. Develop strategies and specific actions to focus your energy on the controllable aspects of the task.
  6. 6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for all relevant tasks so that you gain control and take productive action.

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