Picture yourself in a job interview and like usual they tell you something along these lines: “Our work schedule is from eight to five.” Then you think to yourself. Good, a solid eight-hour work schedule with a one-hour lunch break. Then the first week you notice people leave at six or seven. Even worse, in the corner office, the Vice President works twelve hours, it is even hard to imagine him or her fitting the same amount of work to eight hours. What is going on?
At a restaurant we order a glass of wine and sometimes we get lucky and it comes with a bit more and we proudly say a comment or two to our partner. What we do not realize is that wine served in a glass is only 4 ounces, it would feel ridiculous if it would come in a tankard of ale.
As a general rule, we feel cheated when the container size is not full. If you imagine a soda can, a bag of rice, or an electronic product we expect the products to be filled within the container. Of course, there are some exceptions like cushioning like a bag of potato chips that needs air.
Now let us go back to that VP. Can you imagine him working eight hours? It feels like if he is busy all the time, how can he reduce his working hours? For a brief moment, you think to yourself that maybe he is not efficient and quickly dismiss the thought. He is using an XL container, and his work expands to fit.
Some things are expected, and to a certain degree, that is fine.
Others are imposed.
And a few are just in the containers.
In dieting or nutrition, portion control is crucial to weight loss. Let me rephrase that… It is the name of the game. There is abundant evidence that small things as the size of the plate influence people’s behaviors.
Whether it is work or life, notice the containers around you and take action.
Image by russellstreet
1 Comment
Pingback: Life Is What Happens When You Are Busy Making Other Plans - Ricardo Acevedo