Lana Ko Week 14: The Biggest Lie We Tell Ourselves

         All of us have been here— in bed with the alarm blaring on a bright Monday morning, and instead of getting up like any other responsible human, we tell ourselves the biggest lie ever: “Just five more minutes.”

        At first it seems reasonable. There are a hundred reasons why you deserve these five more minutes of rest. Five minutes is nothing, right? However, five minutes turn into fifteen, then thirty, and before you know it you are getting up at the latest possible time.

The “five more minutes” lie extends far beyond just waking up. It is part of many aspects of life.

Example #1: Laundry

“I’ll put the clothes in the dryer in five minutes.” (You did not do it for the next hour)


Example #2: At the gym

“I’ll get off the treadmill in five minutes.” (You got off in less than 30 seconds)


Example #3: Starting homework

”I’ll scroll for five more minutes before I start this assignment.” (You didn't start it and pushed it off to the next day)


Why do we lie to ourselves like this? Is it optimism or are we just in denial of the basic concept of time. Scientists may never find out but one thing is for sure: The five minute lie undeniably undefeated.


So next time you think or say to yourself, “Just five more minutes,” remember that it's an illusion. Either set a second alarm or just accept the fact that you are going to be late—for the second time.




Comments

  1. Shriya IyangarApril 4, 2025 at 9:44 PM

    Hi, Lana! As I read what you’ve written about how we often lie to ourselves by thinking “just five more minutes” and continuing to procrastinate, I was reminded of how I would give this same excuse to my mom a million times just to avoid going home from the park when I was younger. After all, a few minutes seems like nothing, so it's the easiest excuse to convince ourselves to procrastinate or spend more time doing the things we enjoy rather than the other work that requires our attention. But, as you address in this blog, this “denial” of time is just an illusion, and it’s just going to make us more and more late.

    In your blog, I really appreciated the different examples you’ve provided to prove your case, and, since these examples are really relatable, they made me feel guilty about all of the times I’ve used the same excuse to delay important tasks. I also enjoyed reading your blog because of the short paragraphing, which made your writing very organized. Overall, thank you for sharing this blog, and I hope to learn from your words and avoid telling myself “just five more minutes” in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Samyukta KulkarniApril 7, 2025 at 7:20 PM

    Hello Lana, the excuse “I’ll do it in 5 minutes” is something that my parents have heard from me more times than I can count. At this point, we both know that those 5 more minutes are more like 30…or even longer. Your post reminded me of something that my dad once told me that stuck with me: If a task takes less than two minutes to do, then do it right away. It's such simple advice, but it's surprisingly effective. Putting off tiny tasks just leads to a pile of work that feels overwhelming and impossible to tackle. So, I put it off once again. This feeds into a cycle of procrastination that is hard to break. The examples you gave were relatable and I can think of moments where I have used this reasoning to justify my procrastination. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I look forward to reading more of your work in the future!

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