Why do lists make self-control easier? Lists, especially checklists, tend to make tasks seem more manageable. I think it's the visual association with finishing something that is normally just mental. Is there another way to connect visual accomplishment with tasks? Perhaps that's why the progress bar is so satisfying on computers, or the little wheel of death that accompanies any loading streaming internet video. This also makes sense with the weight-loss tip to eat foods that leave a visual remainder- wings that leave bones on your plate, shrimp that leave tails- so that you can see how much you've eaten, and get a sort of satisfaction from it that you might not feel in your stomach.

Do we purposely derail our own self-regulation? 

Alcohol is consumed, to excess, even though we know that it will lead to risky behaviors, bad choices, and regretted nights.

Homework is put off, though work will decrease, because it can be completed faster under pressure. 

Relationships fall apart because of lack of fidelity, though there is no way to cheat except for conscious action.

The theories of self-regulation as strength, as a coping mechanism, in any sort of scientific sense, are in my opinion ultimately subject to the idea of personal will.

Classical conditioning: training subjects to respond to certain cues subconsciously, such as Pavlov's cue to his dog's salivary glands at the use of a bell.
Operant, or instrumental, conditioning: use of certain positive or negative results to effect certain conscious behavior changes, through positive reinforcement or avoidance of negative consequences.
Successful operant conditioning is usually so subtle as not to be noticed. If conditioning is noticed by an adult, understandable feelings of resentment will result, after feelings of being used.

Self-regulation of sleep
When it is listed as one of the new factors that college students can determine for themselves, sleep is considered a good thing. Because of numerous personal and physical benefits, among which is the theory that sleep itself increases self-regulation, more sleep is equated with better self regulation and time management. If you have time to sleep adequately, you are clearly getting your homework done on time, and fulfilling all other obligations.
On the other hand, there is a kind of quiet esteem for those students who have the reputation of "never sleeping" because they do so many extra curricular activities and they perform well academically. This goes in accordance with the idea proposed as advice to many beginning fiction writers, which is to give up sleep in exchange for quiet, peaceful writing time.
Sleep is interesting as a self-regulation resource, then, because it is one of the few things which can be up-regulated and down-regulated, with positive results for each.

Are there limits within which self-control models will work?
For Robison, the limit to his problem-focused coping came when he was continually rejected by all the other children, time and time again, for being unable to work with them. This suggests an upper stress limit for applications of explanatory style.
The theory of rumination also has limits. The friends of mine who ruminate excessively often only do so for certain things- social situations, certain schoolwork projects, and family issues. There are other things, which come more naturally, which they do not think of at all, such as hobbies, habits, and routines. This suggests an area limit for rumination coping.

Gender differences in self regulation:

• Women tend to diet more, and focus more on what they eat. Are they successful at this self-regulation?
• Men tend to regulate themselves socially around women, more than around other men. Women sometimes tend to be unabashedly, relentlessly social, around either gender. Are men better at regulating social interaction with the opposite gender?
• Women supposedly get better grades in college. Are they better at self-regulating academically?
• Men tend to be involved in fewer extra curricular activities. Are they better at self-regulating obligations, so as not to be overwhelmed?

I think that the idea of being introverted matches very well with the concept of social interaction as requiring self-regulation. In my experiences adjusting to the college environment, one of the hardest things to accept was the idea that I would have to see and interact with people every day, no matter how I felt. As a homeschooled student, I could easily limit my social interaction in high school, if I didn't feel up to people. I didn't often; I had friends and eventually took classes at the public school where I had to come every day. But social interactions still take work for me, and I still have days where I would just rather not talk to anyone.

from sarahseeandersen.tumblr.com