Or why you should stop yourself at 1 chocolate egg, 2 slices of pizza, or a small bowl of crisps…
In economics, the law of diminishing marginal utility states that as consumption increases, the marginal utility derived from each additional unit declines. “Utility” is the term used to represent satisfaction or happiness. So marginal utility is the incremental increase in happiness that results from the consumption of one additional unit.
The concept can be applied to many things: the first chocolate egg is a perfect hit of sweetness and meltiness. After all, chocolatiers spend 100s of hours getting the balance just right. The second one is still pretty good, let’s face it. But the 3rd or 4th? Alot less so. Your taste buds are a bit overwhelmed. The enjoyment won’t hit the highs of the previous two eggs.
Dominos pizza? Same thing. The first slice is delicious. The second still hits the spot. But you get less and less enjoyment after that.
So we really should learn to stop early on, before our satisfaction drops.
Marketeers and supermarkets know diminishing marginal utility well. This is why they often have specials: buy one, get the second half price. Because your satisfaction will fall, you’re unlikely to want to spend the same amount of money on the second item.
In psychology, the same concept is used to describe hedonic adaptation – the process through which our minds get used to positive (or negative) events.
The message here is simple: take a break! This is key to our happiness as well as our calorie consumption.
Studies have shown that interrupting consumption can help us break the hedonic adaptation cycle.
Back to chocolate eggs: if you space out your consumption by taking breaks, your baseline satisfaction level is reset. And the next egg will provide you with the same level of satisfaction as the first.
Similarly, instead of binge-watching Tiktok / MAFS (Married at first sight – apparently it’s good and very bingeable. I don’t watch it.), limit yourself to 10 minutes / 1 episode.
Interrupting will give your brain time to reset its baseline satisfaction level and help enhance your enjoyment overall.
This Law of Diminishing Margins can be applied to so many situations: as you add successive units (of anything) the additional or incremental return you get from this will diminish.
Like workouts: the first 30min is really key to your overall improvement, strength and fitness gains. The next 30min, not so much.
Writing newsletters: the first 20 minutes of writing this blog is really productive. Ideas and words flow. The next 20 mins will be about fixing typos and maybe dropping some useful links. It’s still quite useful to the finished product. But the next 20 minutes will effectively provide very little return: A typo here or there… Too much time choosing an image… A bit of formatting…
If I had any sense, I’d stop at 40 mins. Before my returns plummet!
