Bear with me here. Because this is my own hypothesis that I'm going to share based on my own experiences and internal musings. Maybe someone else has thought of this before as well. Or called it something different. I don't know. But I call it the time action paradox.
What is the time action paradox?
Put very simply, the time action paradox states that the longer you wait to do something, the harder it gets to do.
This may seem similar to analysis paralysis. But it's not. Analysis paralysis explains the reason for not doing something. To put things very simply, overthinking results in inaction. The time action paradox explains the phenomenon that the longer you actually wait to do a task – whether you procrastinate due to analysis paralysis or something else – the actual harder it gets to do that thing.
I feel like this is a universal truth. But for some reason it took a long time to crystallize in my mind.
• Most side gigs take time to build. This one pays fast.
• I do short, physician-only surveys on Sermo between cases and get paid for my input.
• They take just a few minutes and the money hits PayPal or gift cards right away.
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Why is the time action paradox the way it is?
I guess this is really a question for the psychologists.
But from my perspective, it happens because the longer we wait to do something, the less fresh it is in our mind. It takes time and effort to re-create the mental atmosphere necessary to complete whatever the task is.
Whether it is something physical, like completing a manual chore, or something more mental, like sorting out an interpersonal issue.
There is also a band-aid effect here. The longer we wait, the more we anticipate the amount of effort, and the more painful the experience ultimately feels (mentally or physically).
What are some examples?
Here are a few from my life.
- Doing a chore around the house
- Cleaning the house
- Folding laundry (also why I outsourced this task)
- Writing a blog post
- Planning an event
- Reading
- Studying
- Budgeting
- Responding to an email
And a million more I'm sure you can think of.
How do we fight against this?
I have a strategy that works very well.
I consistently do things before they become a task. In other words, I minimize the time between thinking of doing a thing and actually doing it.
Let me explain via example.
If an idea for a great blog post comes into my head, I try to write that post as soon as I can. When the idea comes into my head, it is fresh and I'm super excited about it. My brain is stimulated thinking about all the things to discuss. If I write the post then, it's easy and enjoyable.
However, if I put it on my list of topics and do it later, it becomes a task. It takes mental effort to get back into the milieu I was in before. The flow state from the past is not easy to re-create.
Same goes for emails. People are always amazed by how quickly I respond to emails. The reason is that when I get an email, I usually already know how I want to respond after reading it. Waiting only makes it harder because I have to remember everything again. Plus, it becomes another “task” weighing me down.
It becomes a thing.
And I'm not saying that these tasks can't be enjoyable when done later on. They can and most often are, I find. But it does take more effort.
It's like tennis
I've talked about how Winning at Finance is the Same as Winning in Tennis before. But this is a different tennis metaphor.
I look at task like this. Tasks are like tennis balls being hit back across the net to me. First, I decide which are worth engaging with or not. We need to be intentional with our time and effort. But once I decide that a tennis ball is worth the effort, I hit it back over the net to the other person.
That's a lot easier than letting the ball go by, trying to find it, then pick it up, find the right partner again and hit the ball back.
So there you have it…the time action paradox!
And here are some other great mindset resources:
- Sorta Random Sunday: Enthusiasm vs. Endurance
- Sorta Random Sunday: Get in the Arena!
- Is Decision Fatigue Responsible for the Bad Financial Habits of Doctors?
- How To Create Your Financial Goals
And don't forget to check out my best-selling book, Money Matters in Medicine!
What do you think? Have you experienced the time action paradox? What do you think causes it? And what can we do about it? Let me know in the comments below!
