underestimated

# underestimated?

Tasks often take so much longer to complete than you think they will.?

An example:?

You drive to an appointment, but there's construction along the way, delaying the trip. When you arrive (5 minutes late), you look at your phone to see a message from a co-worker, asking about an urgent email you sent last week. To find it, and reply, you have to dig into your Sent messages to find the information you need; however, your app is out of date, so it needs to be updated. Now you have to put in your security code to log back in…?

and on and on…

What started out as a simple trip has turned into a series of tiny paper cuts slowly bleeding your time dry. Sure, you didn't have to reply to the message right away; this is just one example.?

For me, today was one of those days when everything on my plate took much longer than I expected. It wasn't due to a lack of sleep (I've been sleeping really well lately after cutting out the amount of coffee I drink), nor was it a lack of skills to achieve the tasks at hand.?

This seemingly universal phenomenon was given a name in 1979. Named after Douglas Hofstadter , a computer scientist and philosopher, Hofstadter's law states,

"It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law."

The "law" as written is a bit of a joke, but it holds true in our daily lives. For example, you might set aside an hour to clean your house, but end up taking two hours because you got sidetracked by other tasks or distractions. Or, you might plan to finish a project at work in a day, but end up taking a week because of unexpected roadblocks.

We often don't take into account how much time we'll spend on breaks, or how much time it takes to get back into the flow of the task after we've been distracted. Or the logins. Or the review cycles. Or the dog nipping at your feet, asking for a walk, or lunch, or a walk *and* lunch.?

Our brains are wired to be optimistic. We like to think that things will go smoothly and that we'll finish quickly, even when we know that's not always the case. This optimism can lead us to make unrealistic plans, which can then lead to disappointment when we don't meet our commitments.?

What can we do to counteract the effects of Hofstadter's Law in our daily lives?

1. Build in extra time: When *planning* a task, add an extra buffer of time to account for the unexpected. This will help you stay on track and not get discouraged if it takes longer than expected.
2. Stay focused: Avoid distractions and stay focused on the task at hand. The more you can minimize interruptions, the faster you'll finish. This is so much easier said than done, but with things like timeboxing and The Pomodoro Technique you can find core focus time to help you check off the most important things on your list.
3. Be realistic: Be honest with yourself and with your stakeholders about how much time you realistically need to complete a task. Don't set yourself up for failure by making unrealistic plans. Different from tip #1, this is all about communicating these timelines with those who need to know.?

But where do these time goblins come from? How are they spawned? All I know is that they exist, like a law of physics. They are a byproduct of entropy , of competing priorities colliding in every facet of life.

And not until now has it occurred to me that they are a result of a deadline-driven culture, within which many of us operate. This means that people are probably relying on us for something, at a set time, with specs we've agreed on. We have value to offer. And that's a good thing.?

If you'll excuse me, I have a million things to do.?

originally published at https://blog.coffeechords.com/underestimated