Interior Designer Bobby Berk sets his morning alarm to go off at 5:47 a.m.
He reasons that setting the alarm for 5:45 would encourage him to hit the snooze button and spend 15 more minutes in bed. But at 5:47, he no longer feels that he has 15 minutes of snooze time, so he gets himself up instantly.
Berk intuitively knows something about how the brain is tricked by increments of time.
Most tasks are placed into time cycles, usually in 5 to 10-minute increments.
At 5:45 a.m., your brain says one snooze is 5:50 and a second snooze is 5:55. At 5:47, those mental calculations are awkward and less rewarding.
Odd times interrupt the brain’s snooze-based mental math. They trick the brain into thinking differently about how much time is available.
The 5:45 a.m. setting feels early and negotiable, while 5:47 feels specific and final.
Round numbers invite bargaining. They are mentally categorized as flexible.
Odd times don’t trigger the same negotiation instinct. There’s no obvious number to round up to.
Again — 5:47 also feels intentional. Like it was chosen for a reason.
Your brain interprets that intention to mean you’re supposed to get up at that time. The perceived precision increases compliance.
The more concrete the plan is, the more likely you are to follow it. Psychologists have a lofty name for this. The so-called Implementation Intention Effect can be used to manipulate how people view time.
Airlines, for example, know that passengers are more likely to arrive early rather than risk missing an oddly timed flight, say, 10:07. Boarding compliance improves when those times feel more precise.
Delays are also judged differently because of odd times. A flight scheduled for 10:06 leaving at 10:15 feels roughly on time, while a flight scheduled at 10:05 that departs at 10:15 feels more like a true delay.
To take advantage of this phenomenon, setting odd times for appointments, departures, alarms, tee times, and reservations is becoming more common.
The idea is to make time seem less flexible and negotiable. And it works.
While scheduling a meeting at 3:56 p.m. will cause raised eyebrows, people are more likely to be on time. Showing up at 4:00 p.m. will feel very tardy, even though it is only 4 minutes late.
Away from alarm clocks, we aren’t recommending that leaders or businesses set meetings or schedule appointments at odd times. But when others do, you now know why.
The brain can play strange tricks on people, and people can purposely trick the brain. When it comes to time, it works both ways.
