Huberman Lab Master Self Control & Overcome Procrastination | Dr. Kentaro Fujita
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May 11, 2026 
Dr. Kentaro Fujita, a psychology professor at Ohio State who studies self-control and motivation. He describes the marshmallow test, why willpower alone is not enough, and a toolbox of tactics like distancing, visualization, and motivation 'whys'. Short actions, movement, rituals, and aligning mindset with body help beat procrastination and sustain long-term goals.
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Fight Fire With Love Or Short-Term Repellents
- Use both positive aspiration and short-term repellent framing: think about long-term whys or immediate short-term costs to resist temptation.
- Fujita cites work where imagining short-term losses (sugar crash) effectively repelled indulgence.
Create A Personalized Self-Control Toolbox
- Build a personalized self-control toolkit: try multiple strategies (willpower, distancing, role-modeling, whys) and keep the ones that work.
- Fujita stresses failure is informative; tailor tools to person and context and iterate.
Match Motivation Type To The Task
- Performance requires the right type of motivation (promotion vs prevention) not just more motivation; fit motivation to task for better results.
- Fujita's work shows people can introspect which mindset (gains vs safety) suits a task and improve performance accordingly.