One of the downers of my li’l “write stuff down on paper and then only later check them online” approach to life is delayed disappointment means more hype having subconsciously been built up to get dashed when the thing doesn’t work out.
Seeing a concert poster of an artist I like? Nice, maybe I can get tix later.
Later: OK no, you need a smartphone with a specific app to get in. (Which is kind of a mismatch now that purses are illegal at events in Stockholm making it even harder to carry phones. Not that I have one.)
Some contest that might be fun to enter? I dunno, but I’ll make a note.
Later: Eww, looks like some Instagram thing. 🔥🔥🔥 /dev/null
A dance class I really really wanna go to? Yes!!
Later (and putting off other things because I was hoping to go to the dance class instead): Nope. They only use Facebook to communicate and schedule. But it’s a “public group”? Maybe I can read it without being logged in? Yeah, they post dates and hours right there, I can just… oh, turns out Facebook locks me out for accidentally reloading the page and you only get to look at like two things before they start demanding signing up & logging in.
That last example, the delay didn’t make the psychological disappointment that much sadder. I infinity wanted to go, and infinity + three isn’t that much sadder. The practical consequences of the delay was a li’l sad; putting off other things.
So the middle example, the dumb art contest, is a better example of the psychological part of this delay effect. I wasn’t that hyped for it, maybe a four or a five, but four + three is seven. Almost twice as sad.
I didn’t think about the contest a single time between writing it on the list vs going into “do stuff from my lists”–mode, so those three extra drops of hype-building must’ve all been subconscious.