What causes people to make mistakes even when they know how to estimate effort?
Over the course of my career, I have noticed that people worry a great deal about mistakes, and they do almost everything they can to avoid them. One of the biggest mistakes we make as people is incorrect estimation of effort needed for a specific task. When I say mistakes I am referring to mental mistakes that are simply an error in judgment or reasoning that is caused by factors such as cognitive biases, heuristics, or emotions. Don't worry no one will judge for that, mistake is a good word in this context.
Mistakes are often the result of not being able to focus our attention on the task at hand. When we try to accomplish too many things at once, important details can slip through the cracks. Overload of information and change of focus are also factors. Every day, we are bombarded with marketing messages as companies compete for our attention.
Let's dive in and understand what the human mind does when estimating how much energy will be required to accomplish a task. It is important to define what mental effort and attention are.
Mental effort is the use of cognitive resources to achieve a goal. It can be measured by how much working memory is used, how much focus and attention is required, and how much mental energy is expended. The amount of mental effort required to perform a task varies depending on the individual and the difficulty of the task. Easy tasks require less mental effort than hard tasks.
The more experience you have in a specific field the less mental energy you will need to complete the task. For example, an experienced carpenter will require less mental energy to build a house than someone with no experience in carpentry.
Attention is also a cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while filtering out other distractions. Attention is a limited-capacity system, meaning that people can only pay attention to a certain number of things at any given time. You may remember the last time you were driving and were so focused on the road that you filtered out other distractions. Because attention is a limited-capacity system, it is possible to overload it and we may miss important information that can lead to making mistakes.
The main reason for the limited capacity is that working memory can only accomplish so much. The capacity of working memory is limited and it can hold only a small amount of information at any given time.
Whenever I meet a new person, I repeat his name several times in my head to make it easier for me to remember him and free up my working memory. Generally, people can hold between five and nine items in their working memory at any given time. Even if you could hold more information in working memory, you would still have to decide what information to focus on and what to ignore.
The ability to control attention is linked to effort because it requires focus and concentration. When a task is difficult or time-sensitive, individuals need to switch between tasks more quickly and rehearse information before it is forgotten. Good example is trying to have a conversation while someone else is talking loudly.
It has been my observation that under time pressure, we don't perform very well. This is because we don't have the energy to carefully consider all of the relevant information and make a deliberative decision. Instead, we may have to rely on heuristics or rules of thumb, which are more likely to lead to errors. The result can be inaccurate assumptions or the omission of important details. In the retail environment, people are sure to make poorer decisions when they are under time pressure. We also lose our certainty levels and consequently don't make any decisions.
As you can see, your decision-making ability is directly related to the ability to control your attention and mental effort. You can reduce the chances of making mistakes or even avoid them by following these tips.
1. Dividing a task into multiple steps: By dividing a task into several steps, we commit intermediate results to long-term memory or writing instead of working memory.
2. Taking breaks: While researching online about a house you are considering buying, it is helpful to take breaks. In this way, you are able to rest your mind and come back to the material with fresh eyes.
3. Practice: Practicing regularly is important when learning a new skill.
Building muscle memory and reducing mental effort are two benefits of this method.
4. Automating tasks: Creating a routine for yourself is helpful when it is possible to automate tasks. By automating some of your tasks, you reduce the amount of mental effort required to accomplish them. For example, setting up automatic payments for your bills.
5. Aim for simplicity: This reduces the amount of mental energy required to accomplish the task and minimizes mistakes.
6. Planning ahead: By planning ahead, you can ensure that you have everything you need and can think about what you need in advance.
Every situation can be solved with this simple formula:
1. Identify the tasks that require the most mental effort.
2. Break these tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps.
3. Write out a plan for how to complete these steps.
4. Make sure you have all the resources you need before starting work on the task.
5. Set a timer and focus on one task at a time.
6. Take breaks as needed, but don't let yourself get too sidetracked.
To summarize, it is important to create a quiet, focused environment for working to minimize distractions. Turn off the television, radio, and any other devices that might distract you. It is also a good idea to chunk tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks.