“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
C. Northc Parkinson
Business Dictionary
Proposed in 1955 in jest by the UK political analyst and historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909-93) while criticizing the British Admiralty (which was growing bigger while the number of sailors and ships under its care was going down).
By Ivaylo Durmonski
What Is The Parkinson’s Law?
Simply put, Parkinson’s Law means that if you allocate 8 hours to complete a certain job it will take you exactly 8 hours, even if the task can be done in less than 4 hours.
Why Understanding Parkinson’s Law is Important?
The output will not increase in proportion to the number of people employed: You get more people hired but the production doesn’t increase proportionally? This is common for big firms. Both the old and the new employees will find new ways to waste their time – mainly doing unimportant tasks.
How to make Parkinson’s Law Work in Your Favor?
We have a tendency to slack off, especially if there are no boundaries. So, the first thing you should do in order to make sure that you’re not re-arranging your wardrobe when you should be working is to set some sort of constraints:
Constraints: “Creativity comes from constraint,” famously said Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter. If our mind thinks that everything is possible and that we can have it all, we’ll wander, we’ll consider all the options, and while this might sounds terrific, it’s only wasting our time. Set constraints for everything.
Outline the important tasks: There’s a reason the 80/20 principle, aka The Pareto Principle, is so popular – because it works. When you know which tasks are the most important ones, you can plan your day appropriately.
Separate tasks: To ensure you’re not researching when you should be working, and the other way around, specify exactly when you’ll be looking for sources, materials, et cetera and when you’ll be actually doing deep, focused work. However, never do both simultaneously.
Review: After the work is done, make sure you have some time to review to consider, one more time, all possible scenarios.
Set deadlines: And to be more precise, set shorter deadlines. When you set deadlines, you create a powerful motivational aura that forces you to focus. You’re completely immersed and nothing un-related to the completion of the project enters your orbit.
Additional Reading
Parkinson: The Law, Complete by C. Northc Parkinson
Points of Reflection
“The more time you have to do things, the less you are able to get done.”
Joyce Rachelle
“If you want to double your productively, shorten the timeline to by 50%.”
Richie Norton