Psychology
The Planning Fallacy and Optimism Bias in Decision Making
Quick fact
Studies show that people consistently underestimate completion times—even when they have direct experience with similar tasks. For example, in one study, students predicted their thesis would take an average of 33.9 days, but the average actual time was 55.5 days—a 64% overrun.
Why this is interesting
Ever promised yourself a project would take a weekend, only to spend a month? Why do we keep making the same mistake?