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Starting with disliked tasks was linked to better self-regulation in health and financial matters, indicating conscious control of behavior. On the other hand, starting with liked tasks was correlated with weaker self-regulation, supporting previous research on procrastination. Eating disliked food first was linked to better self-regulation for studying, and appeared to be driven by unconscious patterns and a desire to avoid punishment (i.e., having to eat more disliked food later).