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Yes—how you label the time ahead can change how demanding, urgent or attainable a goal feels. Research summarized by the University of British Columbia (UBC) found that people judged the same duration as longer when it was expressed with a large and small unit (“2 hours and 55 minutes”) than when rounded to a larger unit (“three hours”). Other studies find that describing a distant event in days or months instead of years can make it feel closer. Use the unit that fits the job: a rounded block to lower the barrier to starting, and a smaller unit to make a distant deadline feel actionable.
What the time-framing studies found
In a 2026 UBC interview, assistant professor Deepak Sirwani described research covering 10 studies, more than 10,000 online course listings and nine experiments with over 6,000 participants. Across the work, a duration sounded longer when it included a smaller leftover unit. “Two hours and 55 minutes” was perceived as more time than “three hours,” even though the durations were equivalent.
The effect also appeared in an exercise example: participants chose lower weekly exercise targets when shown “one hour and 55 minutes” than when shown “two hours.” The finer-grained wording made the commitment feel larger, which reduced its apparent attainability.
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Sirwani said manageable framing may help someone begin a task or avoid putting it off. However, the interview explicitly states that procrastination was not tested directly. The practical advice is therefore an evidence-informed application, not a guarantee that changing wording will make a person act.
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Should you think in days, weeks or months?
Choose the unit according to the decision you need to make. Smaller units can bring a distant outcome psychologically nearer; broader, rounder units can make an immediate work block feel less intimidating.
| Situation | Useful framing | Reason | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| A work session you must start today | “One hour” rather than “55 minutes plus 5 minutes” | A round description can feel more manageable and attainable. | Do not use rounding to hide the real effort from yourself. |
| A goal due several months from now | Count weeks or days to the next milestone | Smaller units can make the future event feel closer and more urgent. | Urgency without a scheduled action does not create progress. |
| A weekly exercise target | Use a simple total, then divide it into sessions | Clear, attainable chunks are easier to act on and monitor. | An overly precise total may make the commitment feel larger. |
| A final deadline | Use the date and a meaningful checkpoint | Specificity supports planning and review. | Adding an exact time of day can make the wait feel farther away. |
Why smaller units can increase urgency
A 2015 summary from the Association for Psychological Science described seven studies in which people judged future events as closer when the interval was measured in days rather than years, or months rather than years. That shift changed perceived proximity without changing the calendar date. It can be useful when a year-end objective still feels abstract: “42 days to the finish” invites a different response than “six weeks” or “two months,” depending on which wording makes the next action clearest.
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This is a perception effect, not extra time. Converting a period into days does not create more opportunities, and it can become counterproductive if daily counting produces anxiety or encourages unrealistic workloads.
Does adding an exact time make a deadline better?
Not necessarily. The UBC interview reports that adding a time of day to a deadline can make the deadline feel farther away than a date alone. The researchers did not test procrastination itself, so it would be too strong to claim that a precise time causes delay. Treat the finding as a design caution: include the time when coordination, a booking or a formal submission requires it; otherwise, pair the date with an earlier personal checkpoint that prompts action.
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How to turn the framing into a year-end plan
- Define one observable outcome. State what will be finished, delivered or measured by the end of the period. “Exercise more” is not specific enough; a defined number of sessions or a completed deliverable is.
- Pick the time scale that lowers the first barrier. Express the next work block in a round, manageable unit. If the goal is far away, also calculate the weeks or days until a meaningful checkpoint.
- Schedule the next physical action. Put the smallest step on a calendar: open the document, complete one session, make the call or gather the required data. A time description is useful only when it leads to a behavior.
- Set checkpoints before the final date. Use weekly reviews for a multi-week goal. Record what was completed, what remains and what must change in the next interval.
- Adjust the plan, not just the wording. If the commitment still feels too large, reduce the next step or divide the target. If urgency is weak, switch the review to days or weeks and move the checkpoint closer.
What the broader goal research adds
A 2020 meta-analysis in Psychological Bulletin covered 378 studies and 2,000 tests. A future time perspective was positively associated with goal setting (r+=0.25), goal monitoring (r+=0.19), goal operating—the process of acting on goals (r+=0.24)—self-regulatory ability (r+=0.35) and outcomes (r+=0.18). These are associations, not proof that adopting a future-oriented mindset by itself causes success.
Goal-setting theory, including Fried and Slowik’s 2004 article in Academy of Management Review, emphasizes three practical dimensions: difficulty, attainability and specificity. A year-end plan works best when the target is challenging enough to matter, realistic for the available time and described precisely enough to guide choices. Monitoring supplies the feedback loop that reveals whether the target or the schedule needs revision.
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Why New Year feels like a reset
The “Fresh Start Effect,” reported in a 2014 Management Science paper, links temporal landmarks with increases in diet searches, gym visits and stated commitments to pursue goals. A new year, month, week, semester, birthday or holiday can separate a new period from an earlier one, making an aspirational start feel natural. Anticipating that landmark does not ensure persistence; the plan still needs attainable steps and regular monitoring.
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- Need to start? Use a rounded, manageable description of the immediate effort.
- Need the future to feel close? Express the interval in weeks or days to the next checkpoint.
- Need coordination or accountability? Keep the official date and required time, but add an earlier action deadline.
- Need to know whether it is working? Review progress on a fixed weekly schedule and change the workload when the evidence shows it is unrealistic.
The strongest case is for combining framing with a specific outcome, a scheduled next action and monitoring. Changing “how long” into a more useful unit can remove a psychological hurdle, but it cannot substitute for time, capacity or follow-through.
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