CoT = EU + TP + TR

by Widdershins

Yes!!! (cue mad scientist chuckle) I have invented Unobtanium!!!

Mine! All mine!

Mine! All mine!

 … I am now and forever famous!!! … and filthy rich beyond the dreams of avarice!

Also, I may or may not have turned myself into a rodent

Also, I may or may not have turned myself into a rodent

…

…

Hah! … t’would that it were so.

Lets break down this fabulous formulae, shall we?

CoT  – Completion of Task

EU    – Energy Used

TP     – (not Toilet Paper) Time Perception, or how long we objectively estimate the task itself will take to complete, including set-up (before) and clean-up (after)

TR    – Time Resistance – when we go into resistance to doing the task (also includes, distractions, avoidance, deflecting, etc)

Here’s an example of how it works …

The other day Mrs Widds and I had to take a trip to our local landfill-and-recycling-depot. (we don’t have a council garbage service here on Widder Island, unless we pay for it, and after we did our due diligence we decided it was easier and cheaper to run our minimal amounts of garbage and slightly-less-than-minimal recycling to the depot ourselves)

All we had to do was gather the stuff together and toss it in the back of our truck. The garbage was in a single container. The recycling, I sort and bag as we go. Odd bits and bobs that don’t fit in either category were stored in the fabulous tin shed we built a couple of summers ago.

All an all it probably would’ve taken us two hours, (at the most) including the 40 minute there-and-back trip, to do, but we both dreaded that it would be an exhausting trip, and take hours, and hours, and hours, and …

It was time to put the kettle on, make tea, and discuss the matter.

We started the conversation thinking it was a matter of managing our time better, (aka, Time Perception) but that didn’t quite fit. ‘Time’ is immutable, (unless you’re moving at time-warping speeds, in ships powered by the afore-mentioned unobtainium) therefore it can’t actually be managed at all.

What ‘Time Perception is really about is how we perceive the amount of time a task will take.

This perception is influenced, (mostly) by information, (or lack of it) about the requirements of the task, how important (or not) is it to complete the task, and what our expectations are once the task is completed.

Having invented the formulae I used in the title of this post, Mrs Widds and I happily loaded up the truck, had a wonderful drive through some beautiful mountainous scenery, and rid ourselves of our accumulated garbage and recycling.

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25 comments on “CoT = EU + TP + TR”

  1. cagedunn says:
    15/07/2020 at 2:53 AM

    I’ll have to write that formula down … somewhere … unless it’s hiding at the back of the dead computer …
    No? Okay, I’ll write it down, all fresh and new, and take note every time it happens, all scientific-like.
    Giggle. Or should that be cackle?
    Anyway …

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Tish Farrell says:
    15/07/2020 at 3:01 AM

    An eye-opener, Widds. Now I understand what he-who-builds-sheds is up to in there.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. quiall says:
    15/07/2020 at 4:25 AM

    hahaha. I have got to get me some of what you are drinking cuz that was brilliant! That is so close to unobtainium from the movie ‘The Core’ which I just watched! (A substance that coats the ship that is headed to the core of the planet, save the world, get the girl.)

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Sue Vincent says:
    15/07/2020 at 6:16 AM

    Whatever is in that tea, I need some 😉

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Doug Jacquier says:
    15/07/2020 at 6:16 AM

    If I understand the Periodic Table (note the ‘if’ and the ‘understand’), I would hazard a guess that Unobtanium is closely related to that derivative of Ytterbium known as Dystterbium, which is so volatile it is yet to generate a reliable acronym but is apt to encourage much tea-drinking and random adventures in recycling, shed-building and karmic procrastination.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. derrickjknight says:
    15/07/2020 at 9:28 AM

    I never could get on with algebra. 🙂 A good trip, though

    Liked by 1 person

  7. TanGental says:
    16/07/2020 at 2:29 AM

    Which proves that e=mc2 is the amount of energy wasted is equal to twice the amount of male concentration needed to understand what the fuck most women mean … love me a good formula… now where’s that woman’s tea?

    Liked by 1 person

  8. acflory says:
    16/07/2020 at 6:00 PM

    I so read that TP as toilet paper, especially with regards to the ‘unobtainium’. 😀 😀 Thank you for giving me a belly laugh with my morning coffee. You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t spill any. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. D. Wallace Peach says:
    17/07/2020 at 8:01 AM

    I had to look up Unobtanium. What an amazing substance. And your formula is perfect. I had to write it down and will apply it to housework. I’ll let you know how it works! Lol

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Su-sieee! Mac says:
    17/07/2020 at 1:05 PM

    I’m up in the air whether unobtainium is a real term. Kudos to the person who conjured it from nothing.
    Your formula works for me. These days, to complete my harder tasks, I build in a lot of TR to psyche me through. Thank goodness for TR!

    Liked by 1 person

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