Everything Takes Longer Than I Think
How I am trying to adjust my expectations
“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.” ~ Douglas Hofstadter
Hofstadter’s Law comes from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Douglas Hofstadter in his book Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Gold Braid. His book explores the ideas at the heart of cognitive science, a topic well beyond my understanding. A quick Google search will show you that Hofstadter’s Law is often used in reference to technology. Anyone who has ever built a website knows it will take at least twice as much time as you anticipate.
I think Hofstadter’s Law extends to most areas of life and certainly of business. I experience this almost daily. I am an optimist at heart, and I am also a planner. I meticulously plan my schedule, down to the minute (crazy, right?), so I can maximize my time every single day, squeezing out every ounce of work I can. I track my time using Clockify, a useful timer app, to track how long tasks take me so I can better estimate tasks in the future and I can bill my hourly clients fairly.
My self-talk around scheduling goes something like this.
“You slept well last night, you ate a healthy breakfast and got fresh air during your morning dog walk. You are properly fueled and ready to get everything on your ‘to do’ list done today. You’ve got this. Let the work begin!”
I sound a bit like Stuart Smalley, don’t I? There are often unhelpful thoughts that follow, under my breath, that I am inadequate or less than if I don’t get it all done. I would never say that to a friend; I shouldn’t say it to myself either.
In reality, I am setting myself up for failure. I pack so much on my “to do” list, and I never make time for contingencies like a last-minute meeting, not feeling well, or an important task that requires immediate attention. When I heard about Hofstadter’s Law on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, I realized that it isn’t just me who underestimates the time things take. It’s real, and it affects almost everyone. For those who can’t relate, celebrate your stellar planning and time management skills. You are a unicorn.
Hearing Hofstadter’s Law, I feel validated (yay, me!), but how do I work around it? How do I properly estimate the time it takes to get tasks done and still complete them all? If I’m honest, that is very unrealistic. I don’t get everything done. I just push it to another day, or it simply doesn’t get done until something’s on fire, figuratively, of course. Thanks to Asana, rescheduling tasks is easy to do, almost too easy.
What I really need to do is rethink my workload. I’m working two jobs (one full-time and one part-time), and I own two businesses, including one I launched last week. But I have the same amount of time in my day as everyone else. I need to decide how to best spend that time. Here are three things I plan to implement more consistently.
1) Know your non-negotiables
Prioritization is key. As my friend Erica Miller, the owner of EDM Consulting, would say, “What are your non-negotiables? If you get nothing else done today, what has to be done?” This is great advice. I need to print that out and hang it above my computer to help me stay on task. I’m easily – squirrel – distracted.
I have another friend who only puts three things on her “to do” list every day. That way she prioritizes her tasks and is far more realistic about her time than I am. That makes me nauseous just thinking about it – only three things?!! – but it works for her, and she is incredibly successful.
2) Be realistic about what you can accomplish
Time management is super important too. I’m not great at that. I schedule so many tasks in my day that I don’t allow for breaks or interruptions. [My pets will confirm this is absolutely true, and they share their disappointment with me regularly.] Instead, I curse my schedule, silently roll my eyes, and beat myself up for what isn’t getting done. I would be far more successful, and happier, if I set more realistic expectations. I need to rethink my “to do” list, what must be done, what must be done by me, and what can be delegated or not done at all.
3) Celebrate the small wins
Another gem from Erica is to celebrate the small wins. I tend to consider the day a success if I get all the things done, which rarely happens. Instead, if I celebrate that I turned an article in to my editor on time or that I made a phone call I’ve been putting off, I will feel far better about myself at the end of the day. Today, I am celebrating that I was inspired by a podcast, and I am writing about it. Yes, I’m putting off something else, but creativity strikes when it strikes. Just writing today, which I have not made time for lately (sorry, Joe) is a big win for me.
My commitment to myself
My commitment to myself is to reevaluate my “to do” list with a different lens, schedule more time for tasks to recognize Hofstadter’s Law, and be more realistic about what I can take on. That includes scheduling time for breaks, meals and exercise. I don’t want to just get things done. I want to enjoy the process of the tasks themselves because each one gets me one step closer to helping someone, honoring my commitments to others, and trying to make the world a better place one task at a time.
Share your tips
I’d love to hear your tips for planning, time management and being realistic about what you can accomplish. Drop them in the comments below!
[Note: I am not compensated for the tools I recommend. I am sharing how they help me. This may change at some point, and if it does, I’ll be sure to let you know.]