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How to Overcome the Mental Bias that Keeps You Running Out of Time

Explore practical steps to avoid overcommitment and have more time for things that matter the most.

Eva Keiffenheim
4 min readMar 6, 2024
OpenAI. (2024). Journey of overcoming the Planning Fallacy in the style of Salvador Dalí. Prompt by Eva Keiffenheim.

Have you ever set aside two hours for a task, only to find yourself still working on it four hours later? If so, know you’re not alone.

I have been there as well, and so have many others. This all-too-common experience is not a personal flaw. Instead, it’s a psychological phenomenon known as the “Planning Fallacy”.

This cognitive bias can lead you to underestimate the time needed to complete tasks, despite knowing that similar endeavors have previously taken longer.

Generally, it is rooted in our optimism and desire to see our projects in the best light possible. However, this same optimism can blind us to the realities of execution — and lead to missed deadlines and a lot of stress.

Why Lifelong Learners Should Care About This Bias

As a learning science enthusiast, I’ve explored countless resources on neuroscience and cognitive psychology, driven by my mission to help people learn smarter.

When I ask people about their biggest barrier to learning, I often hear they do not have enough…

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Eva Keiffenheim
Eva Keiffenheim

Written by Eva Keiffenheim

Learning expert with 5M+ reads. Committed to building a fairer future, one narrative at a time. Start writing for millions of readers http://bit.ly/learnletter

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