Do You Ever Say “I’ll Do It Later?”
Have you ever read a fancy name for something that made your eyes cross, and then once you read the definition realized OHHHHHH right, that’s me?
Welcome to hyperbolic discounting, the next cognitive bias in my blog series about our hardwired challenges with organization. This is the one that, in my experience, has the biggest impact not on getting organized (we’ve covered several cognitive biases that affect our ability to declutter in Parts 2, 3, and 4) but on STAYING organized.
Hyperbolic discounting is a fancy economics term for the fact that humans are really, really bad at delayed gratification. Like, really bad. So bad. It’s actually sometimes funny when I see it play out in real life - although I only laugh with my clients, after explaining the phenomenon to them so they know it’s not their fault!
There are two ways this plays out that have major impacts on our relationships with our space and our stuff.
We want what we want when we want it NOW. Preferably yesterday. So what do we do? We’ll buy something new so we can have it now, rather than having to wait for the time and energy it will take to find the thing we already own. This means we spend extra money and end up with duplicates and tons of extra clutter.
We will take a smaller reward or relief now rather than waiting for a bigger (even enormous) reward later. So what do we do? We’ll buy a couple of bins from The Container Store and shove in the flotsam and jetsam, rather than taking additional time to sort and declutter everything before trying to store it. This means we never get organized, we only actually containerize - and we still have all the frustrations of disorganization to go with our shiny new bins!
Oh, and if you’ve ever put something down and thought to yourself, “I’ll just put it away later”? You’re doing classic hyperbolic discounting. You’ll go for the relief of getting the thing out of your hand rather than putting it away and gaining the ultimate reward of having all your stuff put away.
When I’m working on decluttering with clients, there will inevitably be piles of things that belong somewhere else in the home. And I will ask clients to pick up the items and take them to the places they belong, right then, in the organizing session. Because I know that, given the chance, they’ll take the relief of having sorted the items out over the task of putting them away, every time. (I’m also sneakily helping them build the muscle of the put-stuff-away habit.)
So if you’re doing some hyperbolic discounting, how can you trick your brain into seeing the real value at stake, and being willing to put in extra effort and time up front for a bigger reward (an organized home!) in the end?
Learn to recognize the “I’ll do it later” and “I’ll just order it” impulses as they happen. They say self knowledge is the first step, and in this case it could not be more true. These behaviors have been automatic for you for most of your life, and in order to be able to flip the script, you need to understand when and why you’re doing them. Notice, consider, but don’t judge. Remember, this is a cognitive bias that all humans share! It’s not unique to you and it’s not your fault.
Once you’ve started noticing hyperbolic discounting in action in your own life, slow down the pace of the next action. Take an extra beat to consider: Will I really do it later? Do I really need to order it? What are my alternatives? Remember, cognitive biases are shortcuts. In order to interrupt them, we have to spend a little extra energy.
It’s likely that when you learn to recognize and interrupt your hyperbolic discounting, you’ll really start to notice how clutter and disorganization are impacting your life. It’s pretty hard to do it now and not order replacements when you’re not working with an organized space! Don’t feel guilty, instead, use this as motivation to create a plan for when and how you’re going declutter and set up organizing systems. Maybe this is your sign to clean out your closet this weekend. Maybe now is the time to schedule a call with me. Whatever that means for you, use this discomfort to fuel action!
How is hyperbolic discounting affecting your daily home life?
LMW
