Annie Lowenstein Do you find yourself juggling a dozen projects in various states of completion all happening at once? You’re not alone. But when you don’t know can hurt you. Having this many tasks all happening at once can lead to excess stress in your life. But through setting goals and being selective there are ways to break this cycle of stress. Many people find themselves doing two or three projects in any given week, we may ‘abandon one’, or ‘save it for later’ as we tell ourselves but really when we do this, it turns into an unconscious load of stress that we have no control of… But wait, yes you do. It starts with our very first decision to start a project, then our brains commit something called a planning fallacy, which is a mistaken belief. The planning fallacy states that there is a, “predisposition of humans to underestimate the time it takes to complete a thing”. What this is saying is that as humans, we cannot accurately estimate the amount of time something will take. So, in turn we overcommit ourselves to an abundance of tasks we can’t complete. This principle is so deep within us that some people can understand it, and acknowledge the fallacy, but still commit it. It is also partly that our unconscious brain finds new things so exciting, that they throw our brain for a loop, and out brains reward ourselves for starting something new, because the chemical reaction that takes place feels so good. As humans, we are built to crave this feeling, and can get addicted to starting new tasks. It is a form of operant conditioning, something called positive reinforcement: When we add something into our lives to strengthen the good feeling in our brains. After a while, we are conditioned to crave the feeling of starting new things. But with time, naturally, the excitement will fade and your brain will lose interest in those things that we don’t really care about. After a while they loom over us as half-completed, and nag on our brains, adding more stress. Sometimes it can make you feel weighed down to the amount of tasks you are trying to handle all at once, created bad stigma around what that project is. But there is a way to solve this looming crisis! There are various ways we can avoid the extra tasks turning into stress. It has to do with self-affirmation, and how your brain rewards itself upon completion of a task. Dr. Amabile, who studies the impacts of daily events on ones productivity and work life, found in a study that participants, that the most impactful events in productivity were the small progresses, or “micro progresses” that kept participants interested in a project. This means that even the slightest of tasks completed would fuel the fire to continuously wanting to work on the task. With these tips, you can keep yourself true to the projects you care about, and leave behind those that aren’t of interest to you. First tip, figure out what success really is to you in the thing you want to begin, and set goals for yourself. Because, when we fail to reach a standard that is unreasonable, it makes us lose interest in that thing. Next, learn how to “Count the full cost”. This means that when we want to start a new task and try to think about the time it will take to complete, multiply that time by three. This multiplication of time seems to be a lot, or almost too much, but has been found to be accurate in making realistic time estimates. To-do lists are also very helpful, this can be considered a form of “micro progress”… When you check off the items on your list, there is a chemical reward released into your brain and it is encouraging for your brain to keep building off of those small accomplishments. Lastly, know when to give up: Set a cutoff date in your head to quit at something when or before it lingers too much and beings to cause you stress. Because once that happens we begin to associate that thing that looms over us as a bad thing, and can cause conditioned reactions to it. Our brains only have so much attention capacity so don't let something from ages ago take up that space you could use for important things. With these tips, conquer those things you’re passionate about and dump those that you aren’t. Can you think of any projects you’ve brushed into the corner? Higgs, M. M. (2018, December 04). How to Accept a Compliment - Even if It's From Yourself. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/smarter-living/how-to-accept-a-compliment.html?module=inline Herrera, T. (2018, December 10). Why You Start Things You'll Never Finish. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/09/smarter-living/why-you-start-things-youll-never-finish.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Psychology and Psychologists&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection Multitasking woman stock photos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/search/multitasking woman
5 Comments
Pie
12/13/2018 07:16:51 am
Wow, that's really interesting! I never realized before that our brains are so bad at estimating how long it takes us to complete tasks. I guess that's why I find myself rushing to finish homework sometimes even when I think I've got enough time. I didn't know that our brains were so addicted to starting new projects, either. In the future, I'm definitely going to use the tips in this article and try to keep my stress to a minimum by setting smaller goals and not overextending myself.
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Caroline Chittum
12/13/2018 05:14:38 pm
This is so helpful! I had no idea that our brains were so bad a multitasking and judging the length of time certain projects will take. Apparently we need three times more time than what we think we need. This means every time I plan to complete my homework or a school project I should schedule in more time so I can start and finish what I need to do. Many of the things mentioned in this blog post I can connect to. I feels really good to check things off a check list and I know that nagging feeling in the back of my head when I procrastinate. I will keep these tips in mind for my school life and personal projects!
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Patrick
12/17/2018 08:04:09 am
Great post! While I was reading, I couldn't help but think about homework, and all those big projects and tests looming around the corner. When an essay is due, I always procrastinate by "shelving" the task for an evening that is less busy. I've found that your study is definitely right - this just makes me more and more stressed as time goes on. Then, when it comes to getting it done, it takes longer than expected! I think this also goes with teachers assigning homework as well. When creating a task that looks like it should take half an hour, students find it takes much longer to complete. Taking into account the planning fallacy would help ensure students get more manageable assignments.
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Maddie Marston
12/18/2018 04:45:19 pm
This is such a helpful article! I have found myself to be buried in stress from projects and tests piling up on me, especially this past week. It gets to a point where I tend to store the task back in my brain for me to forget. Reading this article, I thought of different ways I can improve my multitasking, such as multiplying the time of a task by three. Also, I will use the advice of setting cutoff times. I think this will help prevent me from procrastinating since there is a set time limit to get the work done. This article really helps me relate to my own school work and what I can do to improve my performance of multitasking with minimal stress. Great job and thank you for sharing such great advice!
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Kiarah Barnes
1/8/2019 06:20:05 am
This taught me a lot about how I should manage my time and think about how I can get my work done without leaving it until lest minute. Your piece was very interesting and had a lot of information. I always find myself leaving things until last minute and I am going to use this information to help change that in the future. I also always find myself taking a lot longer on things that teachers say only need a small amount of time and now I why this is! Great job!!
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Ms. Carrigan's Psych ClassWe have been reading articles about psychological studies to inform the way we live our lives. Please explore, and we hope you learn a bit about the psychology in your life! Categories
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