{"id":15676,"date":"2018-04-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.toggl.com\/sunk-cost-fallacy\/"},"modified":"2024-06-15T07:41:14","modified_gmt":"2024-06-15T07:41:14","slug":"sunk-cost-fallacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/sunk-cost-fallacy","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Sunk Cost Fallacy? And How to Avoid It in 5 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sunk-cost fallacy is a trap most people fall into. It\u2019s hard to abandon a project once you\u2019ve invested so much of your time and money into the cause.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the sunk-cost fallacy prevents a very real danger to our lives: by falling for the trap, we risk losing much more than our initial investment in an anxious attempt to recoup the loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here at Toggl, we care a <\/span>lot <\/span><\/i>about the sunk cost trap\u2013it wastes time that could otherwise have been spent on something productive. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we built a time management system<\/a> that can help you run your business and spend your day on the projects that count. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few steps that you should take to wrangle the fear of sunken costs out of your decision-making, but let\u2019s discuss what it is first.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the sunk cost fallacy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A \u201csunk cost\u201d is any expense that can\u2019t be refunded or recovered. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example: once you pay for 10 gallons of gas, the money you spent can\u2019t be recovered\u2013you can\u2019t trade your gas back for money. <\/span><\/p>\n

Like a ship that\u2019s already sunk, it can\u2019t be revived or taken back in any way. <\/span><\/p>\n

The sunk cost fallacy goes by a number of aliases, including:<\/span><\/p>\n