Tuning the conductance of a memristive device is a  process that requires energy and involves power dissipation. In  this letter, the role the memory state programming strategy plays  in this connection is investigated. To this end, the device model  equations representing the electron transport and metal  ion/oxygen vacancy displacement caused by the application of an external signal must be solved consistently. However, if instead of  considering the applied voltage as the model input, a memory state  trajectory is assumed, the model equations can be decoupled  allowing an analytic description of the problem. In order to  accomplish this objective a more accurate version of the dynamic  memdiode model is used which incorporates additional physical  considerations in the characteristic switching times. It is  demonstrated that alternative trajectories (concave, convex, and  sigmoidal) lead to a variety of energy consumption-maximum  dissipated power relationships indicating the key role played by  the selected programming strategy. This kind of study contributes  to the basic understanding of the writing process of memristors (synaptic weight assignment) and sheds light on its electrical  consequences. Â