Book/The Laws of Simplicity/Law 03 - Time

• Book/The Laws of Simplicity

• Law 3 — Time: Savings in time feel like simplicity.

  • What it means

    • When an interaction is fast, we experience it as simple — even if the underlying system is complex.
    • Waiting creates frustration, which reads as complexity.
    • Speed and perceived simplicity are strongly coupled in user experience.

  • Waiting is everywhere

    • We wait for water from the faucet, for pages to load, in traffic, for medical results.
    • Some waiting is subtle and tolerated (seasons changing). Some is acute and maddening (a slow website).
    • The type of waiting matters: urgent waits feel longer and worse than passive ones.

  • Examples

    • FedEx overnight delivery — the speed itself is the value proposition.
    • McDonald's ordering process — the entire system is optimized to minimize time-to-product.
    • A slow web page feels "broken" even when it eventually loads correctly.

  • How to apply it

    • Optimize for perceived speed, not just actual speed. Progress indicators and instant feedback reduce frustration even without changing real wait time.
    • Identify where users are forced to wait and treat each one as a simplicity failure.
    • Fast interactions build loyalty; slow ones erode it, even if everything else is polished.