AS A conscientious tracker of my health data, I have recently noticed a striking improvement in some key metrics. I sleep more soundly and my heart rate variability 鈥� which reflects physiological stress levels 鈥� has never been better. My mood is also a lot brighter.
I am conscious that correlation isn鈥檛 causation, but these changes have happily coincided with a new life hack I discovered a few weeks ago, which can help us all to manage our time more effectively.
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It hinges on a psychological bias known as the 鈥測es-damn鈥� effect, which describes how we often agree to take on too many future commitments, only to regret the decision once the time comes to complete the tasks. It is the reason that our diaries are often packed full of obligations without any space for rest and relaxation as we rush to meet each goal.
Work by Gal Zauberman and John Lynch while they were at Duke University in North Carolina suggests that the yes-damn effect arises from . When we think about our schedule for the weeks or months ahead, we forget the mundane tasks in the background of our lives: errands, housework, doctor鈥檚 appointments 鈥� things that won鈥檛 just disappear when the time approaches.
This creates the impression of more slack in our schedule than we have, leading us to overcommit to new responsibilities. 鈥淲e get tricked into thinking that the future will be some magical land of free time,鈥� writes Hal Hershfield in his new book, Your Future Self.
It isn鈥檛 that the tasks themselves are undesirable 鈥� recent research suggests that we are particularly likely to our availability when we contemplate an activity we know we will enjoy. I know I am guilty of this wishful thinking, and thanks to the yes-damn effect, I am typically left feeling so stressed with the time pressure that I fail to relish the opportunity that had once seemed so enticing.
What can be done? One simple rule of thumb for time management is to estimate how long each new activity will take, then double it. This will make your schedule look far busier than it really is and prevent you from overcommitting.
Alternatively, when you are contemplating a new task, you might try to imagine that you had to do this activity tomorrow. Would you still take it on, despite all the other pressing demands that you know you will have in the coming days? If so, the rewards will outweigh the costs and you should say yes. If the answer is no, you might reconsider.
Putting this into practice, I have found that the initial decision to turn down what sounds like a really exciting opportunity can feel painful, but I am now thankful for the increased free time and reduced stress. Let鈥檚 call it the 鈥渘o-yay effect鈥�.
David Robson is an award-winning science writer and the author of The Expectation Effect: How your mindset can transform your life
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