Are all hours created equal? On our watches, yes, but not necessarily in our minds: Upcoming events may alter the way we think about and use the preceding time.
In a recent study, researchers found that participants with an approaching event were less inclined to take up relatively long (but doable) tasks, including ones with rewards attached.
The reluctance to even get started contributes the biggest part of this effect. To help push back on this tendency, lead author and Rudgers University marketing researcher Gabriels Tonietto recommends ‘’any strategy you can think of to minimize the number of boundaries that you’re creating’’ in your schedule – for example, planning back-to-back meetings in the morning while keeping the afternoon open.