Changing how you think about time could help you accomplish year-end goals: Q&A

How we perceive time can have a significant impact on our motivation and decision-making, according to new research from Dr. Deepak Sirwani, a behavioral scientist at the UBC Sauder School of Business. The study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, demonstrates that the way time is described can make a big difference in how long it feels.

For instance, hearing you have only three months left to achieve your 2026 New Year's resolutions might inspire immediate action, but saying you still have two months and 17 days may not evoke the same sense of urgency, even though the time remaining is actually shorter.

The research found that durations appear longer when they are described using a combination of larger and smaller units, such as "2 hours and 55 minutes," rather than just the larger unit alone, like "3 hours," even though the latter is actually longer. This effect was observed across 10 studies involving over 10,000 online course listings and nine experiments with more than 6,000 participants.

When people hear "3 hours," they tend to think in terms of hours. However, when they hear "2 hours and 55 minutes," the focus shifts to the smaller units, making the duration feel like many small units rather than a few large ones, and thus longer.

This phenomenon can be advantageous when trying to encourage action or discourage procrastination. If the goal is to get started or avoid delaying, framing the time commitment in a smaller unit, such as minutes, can make it seem more manageable. Conversely, if you're setting a deadline, considering how far away it feels can be crucial.

For example, "Dec. 15 at 8 p.m." might feel farther away than simply "Dec. 15," because adding the time makes people think in terms of hours rather than days. In one study, people were less willing to wait a few days for a larger payment when the payment date included a specific time, as the wait felt longer. Additionally, when a deadline feels farther away, people may be more inclined to procrastinate.

The study also revealed that people set lower weekly exercise goals when the targets were displayed in hours and minutes, such as "1 hour and 55 minutes," compared to just round hours, like "2 hours," because the same amount of time felt like more. This same principle applies to expiration dates of food and medicine. For instance, a product labeled "Sept.

30, 2026" may feel like it expired longer ago than one labeled simply "September 2026," even though both products expire on the same day. The study found that people judged recently expired products as less effective when the expiration date was listed as a specific date, because the expiration felt farther in the past. This insight could be particularly useful in labeling medicines, where consuming expired medication can be risky.

Delivery windows can also be affected by how time is framed. A parcel that must arrive "by 4 p.m. on Oct. 17" may feel farther away than one that must arrive "by Oct. 17," even though the first option is likely to be sooner. This difference in perception highlights the subjective nature of how we experience time. The same duration can feel vastly different depending on how it is described, even when the amount of time remains constant.

The key takeaway is that the framing of time can be tailored to serve specific objectives. Sometimes, making a duration seem shorter can make a goal feel more achievable, while other times, making it appear longer can signal value or effort. Ultimately, choosing the right framing is essential to achieve the desired outcome.