In the short term, you should spend your limited willpower budget wisely

I happen to just have read most of the literature on this topic. The first part of the article is well substantiated, but the second part (about training your willpower) seems to be based on very little data. So far I've been able to find only one source, I think, in Muraven/Baumeisters "Does Self-Control Resemble a Muscle?"). The title is phrased as a question for a reason. Afaik no one knows if your newly found willpower will last and if so, how long.

from my experience (quitting drinking), you can hack willpower with mantras. reminding yourself of something every morning and night, in a motivational way, keeps it alive as a goal over the months-long slog. the tricky part is forcing yourself to do this...so one of your mantras should be "i love saying mantras."

I've noticed that the most effective way to get a programming project finished is to just let everything else slide for a few weeks: paying bills, exercising, being social. Probably not a very healthy way to live in the long run, though.

This paper is a more detailed examination of this phenomenon: <a href="http://www.sss.ias.edu/publications/papers/econpaper69.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.sss.ias.edu/publications/papers/econpaper69.pdf</a>

"Other activities that deplete willpower include resisting food or drink, suppressing emotional responses, restraining aggressive or sexual impulses, taking exams and trying to impress someone."<p>Can't for the life of me think why you'd want to do any of those things. Gotta have some fun somewhere ...