Angela Duckworth, the psychologist known for her book Grit, has studied why some people reach their goals while others fall short. Her latest findings show success depends less on willpower and more on shaping environments to simplify good decisions.
Duckworth acknowledged her own struggles with distraction. “I’m certainly not above any of this,” she said. Her mother recently painted a portrait of her staring at her phone—an image that now hangs in her office.
Her research challenges the belief that discipline alone drives achievement. The most effective people don’t just resist temptation; they redesign their surroundings to make better choices effortless. This approach, which she calls “situational agency,” involves simple adjustments like keeping phones out of reach during work or placing written goals in visible spots.
These strategies have gained importance in schools, where smartphones and generative AI are changing how students engage with learning. Duckworth’s team conducted a national survey of 100,000 teachers to measure the impact of phone policies on classroom focus.
Stricter rules—such as requiring phones to be stored in lockers or locked pouches—correlate with fewer distractions. The survey found that the farther phones are from students, the more effective the policy. Some schools enforce “bell-to-bell” rules, banning phone use from the start to the end of the day, while a few have banned them entirely.
Teachers report that tighter controls reduce screen time not just in class but during breaks. Students make more eye contact and engage in conversations instead of scrolling. However, enforcement remains inconsistent, and some students still find ways around the rules.
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Laptops present the next challenge. The survey revealed that about one in three students use them for non-academic purposes during lessons. “Those numbers point to the next issue schools will face,” Duckworth said.
She anticipates a similar pattern with AI. Many students already rely on it daily, yet some express concern that it makes them less independent. “We’ve linked usefulness and risk,” she said. “A phone can teach physics or show Justin Bieber videos. The environment determines which happens.”
Schools and students must create settings where the best choices require the least effort. Duckworth’s work shows this is possible, but it requires intentional design. In her own routine, she keeps her phone in another room when concentrating and posts her goals where she’ll see them often. These habits don’t demand perfection—just small steps to reduce friction.
“I don’t want teenagers to just develop stronger willpower by adulthood,” she said. “I want them to build tools that make difficult tasks easier throughout life.”
The portrait in her office serves as a reminder that even experts face distractions. The key, she says, lies in how they adapt.
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