Hassle factors

Hassles – even small ones – can get in the way of starting or completing an action. Just expecting there will be hassles to doing something can have the same effect as the hassles themselves. Expecting hassles may also cause someone to delay doing something to a later time when they think there will be fewer hassles.

Applications

• A person wants to go to a doctor but they think of the steps they have to do to make an appointment: finding their password, maybe resetting their password, logging into the system, comparing appointment availability to their own calendar while switching between phone apps, and then filling out a form detailing the reasons for the visit. They’re already tired from a busy day, so decide to do it “later”.

• A person starts filling out a form and gets to a field requiring specific information they don’t remember that’s stored somewhere else. So they stop filling out the form, and plan to finish it later.