Hofstadter's Law: Why You Never Get Everything Done on Time + What to do About It
Do you feel like you never get everything on your to-do list completed, and that everything you do always takes longer than expected? Even when you estimate how long things will take, they still take longer. You aren't imagining things! You might just be experiencing Hofstadter's Law, which is what we'll dive into today.
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Around a week ago, I came across the concept of Hofstadter's Law in Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman.
This is a side note, but I appreciate the fresh approach Burkeman brings to the topic of time management, so give this book a read if you are getting tired of productivity culture. His writing is a little philosophical at points, but I still enjoyed this book!
Anyway, back to Hofstadter's Law. That's what we are going to talk about in this post, along with how it is thwarting your to-do list, even when you try your best to get everything finished in time!
But first, what is Hofstadter's Law?
What is Hofstadter's Law?
Hofstadter's Law simply says that whatever task you are working to complete will usually take longer than expected, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law, as explained in Four Thousand Weeks.
When I read about Hofstadter's Law, I immediately thought of how often I overestimate how much I'll be able to get done over the weekend. Monday comes around, and I didn't get as many things crossed off my to-do list as I thought I was going to!
The term Hofstadter's Law was created by a cognitive scientist named Douglas Hofstadter in his 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.
Hofstadter's Law is similar to the planning fallacy, which describes how people often underestimate how long it will take to complete a task, even when they've completed similar tasks.
The planning fallacy was popularized by Daniel Kahneman, who wrote the famous book Thinking, Fast and Slow (This one is still on my TBR, but I hope to read it soon!)
If you feel like you are constantly behind, this should hopefully bring some relief. Everyone is running behind on something because that is how the world works.
You may have experienced Hofstadter's Law when...
- Making a quick trip to the grocery store
- Turning on your laptop to respond to a few emails
- Starting a new project only for it to triple in size
- Hoping that you'll cross a lot of things off over the weekend only for Monday to arrive and you crossed off hardly anything
We often underestimate how long it will take to complete things, so it may feel like we aren't getting anything done even though we are making lots of progress.
Suffice it to say, Hofstadter's Law shows up in our lives regularly, but that doesn't mean we can't figure out ways to plan around Hofstadter's Law and get things done on our to-do list without feeling guilty!
Hofstadter's Law: Why You Never Get Everything Done on Time + What to do About It
1. Use Time Tracking Instead of Rigid Time-Blocking
If you use time-blocking, you may find that as the day progresses, you become further and further behind on your schedule. Now you know that this may be due to Hofstadter's Law.
This is why I recommend doing loose time-blocking or even time tracking. I've been doing time tracking for around a year, and as of right now, it's still working well for me!
With time-blocking, it can be easy to feel like you have to rush through tasks, but with time tracking, you can take however long you actually need for that task.
Time tracking allows you to be flexible with your schedule, while still giving you a sense of how you are using your time, and how long it actually takes to complete tasks.
2. Give Tasks a Time Limit
You know how sometimes you put off a task for a long time, and then when you actually do it, it takes a lot less time than you thought it would?
You can use the same mindset to work faster on tasks. The key to doing this is to not reduce the amount of time you schedule for the task by too much. You do want it to be realistic!
Sometimes, tasks do expand to take the amount of time that you have available, so telling yourself that you have slightly less time than you think it will take can help you complete your work faster.
This might look like using time tracking and then giving yourself a set amount of time to aim for. I do this for blog tasks. If I'm scheduling a batch of pins, I might aim for 20 minutes because it takes me around 20-40 minutes to do.
Because we have Hofstadter's Law, just know that however long you schedule, you probably will end up going over your estimated time by a little bit.
3. Do Your Largest or Most Important Task First
The next way to plan around Hofstadter's Law is by getting your largest task of the day done first.
You've probably heard of Eat That Frog, and that's exactly what this is!
When you focus on completing your largest tasks first, the small tasks almost always end up getting done too because you don't need to have as much energy for them.
I've been putting this into practice by writing in the morning, and it's been a game changer for me because I've been writing a lot more. Turns out, I like to procrastinate writing, even though I love it! It's just because writing seems like a big task, and it's often not that defined.
Even if you can't get your big task completed in one day, you will still make progress on it before smaller tasks start filling up your day.
4. Prioritize Your To-Do List
Along with doing your largest task first, you can also prioritize the rest of your to-do list to make the best use of the time you do have.
Having a prioritized to-do list will help you switch quickly from task to task.
I don't necessarily write down my tasks in order of priority, but I do have a list of everything I need to do for the day, and when I finish a task, I'll quickly scan my list to see what I want to do next.
I guess you could say prioritize as I go, but I do already have everything laid out for me.
5. Use Past Data to Estimate How Long Future Tasks Will Take
One of the benefits of time tracking is that the data you gather is useful for the future as well.
When you do time tracking, you may be surprised by how long or how quickly you complete a task.
The more you track your time, the more you'll be aware of how much time it takes to realistically do a task, especially if you've already completed that task before.
For example, I have the following data about how long it takes me to do these tasks.
- Grocery shopping (1.5-2 hours)
- Cooking/meal prep (2 hours)
- Weekly planning and budget (30 minutes)
Since I have estimates of how long these tasks actually take, it's easier for me to plan out my day and assess how I'm using my time.
You can use your past data from time tracking to make more realistic estimates about how to best use your time going forward.
6. Don't Use a Strict Daily To-Do List
I mentioned my to-do list above, but I actually recommend that you don't have a strict to-do list.
I don't!
It can feel a little defeating when you look at your to-do list and see that you only completed half of what you wanted to do today.
I have a rolling to-do list because I use the Alastair method. Tasks that I don't complete "roll" from week to week until I have the time to get around to them. This works great for those small tasks that don't have a due date.
I don't expect to complete my whole to-do list. I just complete the things that need to be done today, and then if I do have time, I can complete an extra task from my to-do list.
7. Schedule Less Than You Think You Can Accomplish
Entrepreneurs often build MVPs (minimum viable products) because it'll help them get to market faster and solve the customer's main pain point, without lots of extra bells and whistles.
Extra features can always be added to products later, but if they are added up front, the product may never make it to market.
Likewise, you can turn your schedule into a minimum viable product!
One easy way to plan around Hofstadter's Law is to add less to your plate than you think you'll get done. Cut your schedule down to the bare bones and add everything else to a rolling to-do list.
Then if you complete everything early, you can add something from your rolling to-do list. Also, try to cut out all the repeat tasks you find yourself doing.
Most likely, you don't need to check your email and social media ten times a day, especially if you are a college student like me.
There are often routine tasks that can be moved around on your schedule, especially household tasks.
This is why I like to complete most of my household tasks on the weekend, but I prioritize, so sometimes all the cleaning doesn't get done. Grocery shopping and laundry do need to be done every week, though, so those are higher priorities.
8. Build Buffers + Breaks into Your Schedule
Taking breaks is essential because it'll help keep you refreshed and can help you get more done.
Building buffers and breaks into your schedule will help because if a task takes longer than you thought it would, you'll hopefully still have a few minutes before your next task.
I like getting up and walking between tasks because it helps me remain more active throughout the day.
If you always feel rushed, building buffers into your day will help you feel a little calmer. I know having a little downtime during my day helps me!
Final Notes on Hofstadter's Law: Why You Never Get Everything Done on Time + What to Do About It
Hofstadter's Law makes getting everything done on time a challenge. In fact, as Hofstadter's Law reminds us, it's almost impossible to get everything done on time because we often underestimate how long things will take. This is actually good news!
This means you don't have to be as stressed about getting everything done because you won't be able to complete everything. This is one of the biggest takeaways I had when reading Four Thousand Weeks.
At the end of the day, you can look at your to-do list and focus on the progress you have made.
Instead of trying to do everything, you can identify what is most important to you, so you can make sure those things get done.
Here's a quick recap of the tips you can use to plan around Hofstadter's Law:
- Use time tracking instead of time blocking
- Give tasks a time limit
- Do your largest and most important task first
- Prioritize your to-do list
- Use past data to estimate how long future tasks will take
- Don't use a strict daily to-do list
- Schedule less than you think you can accomplish
- Build buffers and breaks into your schedule if you can
If you enjoyed reading this post about Hofstadter's Law, you may also enjoy reading these posts too!
- The Step-by-Step Guide to Breaking Big Goals into Manageable Tasks
- What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting
- A Realistic Guide to Digital Minimalism for Beginners
- Level 10 Life Assessment: My Favorite Annual Life Audit
I hope you learned something from this post about planning around Hofstadter's Law!
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