This scenario has occurred to me more frequently than I care to admit. Upon reviewing my agenda for the upcoming workdays, I often discover a meeting I established weeks prior, during a period when my workload was already extensive and I was consequently unable to undertake additional responsibilities.
The perplexing aspect? At this present moment, I find myself similarly inundated and incapable of realistically accepting new commitments. My assumption was that by this point, circumstances would have become less demanding. This proved to be an erroneous belief.
It appears, and in a somewhat reassuring fashion, that I am not the sole individual susceptible to this particular form of misjudgment.
While perusing an article published in the Harvard Business Review, authored by Ashley Whillans, a professor at Harvard Business School, I encountered the term “future time slack.”
This concept refers to the conviction that one will possess a greater abundance of time in the future compared to the present. Consequently, a significant number of us tend to defer engagements for weeks or even months, precisely when we anticipate having more flexibility in our schedules.
The phrase “future time slack” was originally devised by Gal Zauberman and John G. Lynch, Jr. within a 2005 research paper featured in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Through a series of experimental investigations, the researchers indicated that individuals perceive themselves as having more available time in the (relatively proximate) future, while concurrently believing their financial resources will remain approximately constant.
As articulated by the researchers, the prevailing sentiment is that one is exceptionally occupied at present and anticipates being less so in the near future; however, there is no expectation of being unusually financially constrained today.
An additional consequence of future time slack, as highlighted by Whillans, is the generation of stress.
Whillans elaborates, “We opt to make present sacrifices with the assurance of experiencing more leisure later. Inevitably, when the anticipated future arrives, we find ourselves without additional free time. We simply reiterate the same pattern of error.”
One might forgo attending a friend’s celebration with the intention of working late at the office, under the impression that they will have more opportunities to socialize in the subsequent month. Then, as the next month unfolds, the professional demands remain unchanged.
However, empirical evidence suggests that individuals who prioritize time over financial gain generally experience greater contentment, potentially attributed to working fewer hours and dedicating more time to enjoyable pursuits.
An immediate resolution to this predicament is not readily apparent, with the exception of developing an awareness of one’s propensity to postpone certain obligations with the mistaken belief that more time will become available.
This additional time will not materialize, and your future self (or at the very least, my future self) will be grateful to encounter an unencumbered schedule.
The perspectives presented in this article do not necessarily align with the official viewpoints of the ScienceAlert editorial team.
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