Nicole Robitaille
Associate Professor & Distinguished Research & Teaching Fellow of Marketing
- Adapted from: “More done, more drained: Being further along in a mundane experience feels worse”
- Based on Research by: Zeng, Y., Tsai Jan, C., Zhao, M., and Robitaille, N.
- Journal: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Key Takeaways
- People feel more negatively about a boring or routine task when they are further along or have completed a larger proportion of it, even if the actual time spent is the same. This happens because people focus on how much of the task is done (relative completion) rather than just the time spent, making the experience feel more draining as they get closer to the end.
- The main reason for this effect is “ratio sensitivity” — people judge how much they have endured based on the proportion of the task completed, so finishing a bigger chunk feels worse than finishing a smaller chunk of the same task. Most people do not realize this bias and mistakenly believe they will feel better as they get closer to finishing, but the study shows the opposite for mundane experiences.
- The authors developed simple, low-cost interventions that change how people perceive their progress (such as reframing the total task or dividing it differently), which can make routine experiences feel less unpleasant. These strategies can help individuals and organizations reduce the negative feelings associated with everyday chores, meetings, or repetitive work.
Most people spend hours every day on routine chores, meetings, or repetitive work. What if there were strategies to make these experiences less unpleasant?
Imagine two individuals are sitting through a boring work meeting and 20 minutes have past. If one of them thinks the meeting is supposed to be an hour long, and the other thinks it’s 30 minutes long, does this impact how bored they feel? On the one hand they have both sat through the same 20-minute meeting, on the other hand, they differ in how much time of the meeting they have completed. In this study, Nicole Robitaille and her co-authors found that people feel worse about a mundane task as they get further along or complete a larger proportion of it, even when the total time spent is the same.
This effect, called “ratio sensitivity,” means that people judge how much they have endured based on the percentage of the task completed, so being closer to the end can actually feel more draining for routine, boring experiences. Most people are not aware of this bias and incorrectly assume that getting closer to finishing a mundane task will feel better, but the research consistently shows the opposite across various settings and types of tasks.
The researchers conducted a series of lab and field studies involving different mundane tasks, such as commuting, attending meetings, exercising, and writing reports. Participants’ feelings were measured after completing different proportions of these tasks, while controlling for actual time spent. The studies included both self-reported experiences and some behavioral measures; they also tested and ruled out other possible explanations like mood, attention, or focus on progress, confirming that the “ratio sensitivity” mechanism was the main driver.
The authors developed three simple and low-cost interventions that change how people perceive their progress (such as reframing the total task or dividing it into smaller parts), which can make routine experiences feel less unpleasant. These strategies can be used by individuals and organizations to reduce the negative feelings associated with everyday chores, meetings, or repetitive work, making mundane tasks less draining and improving overall well-being.