Self-discipline

A low score is not a lack of ability or of good intentions. Low scorers often intend as much as anyone and know exactly what they should be doing; the difficulty is in the starting, and in the finishing. Procrastination is a habit, not a character flaw.

A high score is not rigidity. Disciplined people can be spontaneous; they finish what they start.

Four items make a short scale. A facet score moves more between attempts than the 24-item domain score, and it describes a tendency in ordinary life as the person reports it, not a diagnosis of anything.

High. People high on this facet say they are always prepared, carry out their plans and do not waste their time. In daily life that shows as starting the task before the deadline looms, finishing the course, the book and the project, and a steady pace that outlasts other people's bursts. The cost is difficulty letting a plan go when it has stopped making sense.

Low. People low on this facet say they waste their time and have difficulty starting tasks. In daily life that shows as deadlines that do the starting for them, a trail of half-finished projects, excellent work done in a final rush, and a lot of time spent on things that were not the thing. Many low scorers are highly capable and know it.

• Conscientiousness: the broad trait this facet belongs to, with five sibling facets.

In the model of impulsivity built on the Big Five, low self-discipline marks lack of perseverance, which is distinct from acting rashly under strong feeling, from sensation seeking and from failing to plan. (Whiteside and Lynam, 2001)

Self-discipline belongs to the industriousness aspect of conscientiousness, with self-efficacy and achievement-striving. (DeYoung, Quilty and Peterson, 2007)

Facets and even single items predict life outcomes beyond the five domains, so a self-discipline score carries information the conscientiousness score alone does not. (Stewart and others, 2022)

• Self-efficacy
• Orderliness
• Dutifulness
• Achievement-striving
• Cautiousness