We live in a world where “I need 2 weeks to do it” means “I can do it in 1 hour two weeks later”, and we accept it. This is so stupid.

Why do I have to wait 3 months for my visa application to be processed in 1 day, 4 weeks for my 15-minute doctor’s appointment, or 2 weeks for a 15-minute look at the data from my colleague? This is basic hydrodynamics, after all. If they have an inflow of F tasks/week, and they process these tasks 2 weeks later at a rate of P tasks/week, and F≤P, then nothing stops them from doing these tasks right away. Just drop the entire backlog once, and you will deliver instantaneously on all future requests!¹

Of course, as anyone knows, this is not how it works. Not when you are a customer, nor when you are a manager. Two effects are playing against it.

The first is the demand curve. F people want this service done in 2 weeks, hence the F tasks/week inflow. But more people are likely to want the service done right away! So, N will increase, potentially to F>P, making the system collapse. The demand curve of “how long I am willing to wait” vs “quantity of people wanting it” drives this effect.

This is, by the way, why you can get your visa application processed in 3 months - or in 3 days if you pay extra. Or why buying a ticket to the airplane 3 months in advance is cheap, but 3 days in advance is expensive. It is the same demand curve. If an organization keeps a few extra slots open, they can charge rich or desperate people way more for these slots, at the expense of everybody else. Same, again, for doctors, except it is people in urgent need of treatment that are being prioritized, not just the rich (hopefully).

(This is also where politics enters the game. If you have the ability to cut processing times short for friends and VIPs who now have to ask you, why would you give it up?)

The second is human psychology and priorities. There are always other tasks, and we juggle them. We don’t feel socially pressured to do things right away - but we do if someone has waited. As a result, the task where your colleague was waiting for you for 2 weeks feels more important to do. So, we as a society sort of agreed that “oh, he waited for 1 day, he can wait longer” and “ok, he waited for 2 weeks, now is the time” are acceptable statements.²

But this is exactly my point! You have to wait 4 weeks for a doctor’s appointment just because we, as a society, arbitrarily agreed that these are reasonable times. Why not settle on shorter times? Why waiting 4 weeks for a doctor to get treated is considered ok, while waiting 4 hours for food delivery is not?

As a manager, I respect people who say, “I can prioritize this task in 2 weeks” instead. It is harder but more honest to say. It shows the real reason I am not getting my visa or ticket or treatment or task done right away. It highlights the problem and maybe motivates everyone involved to not tolerate it. I think the world would have been a better place if we were more honest with each other.

Until then, I will need 2 weeks to write my next blog post.

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