Parkinson’s Law | Get More Done in Less Time
how long you work on something depends almost entirely on the amount of time you have to do it. This is Parkinson’s Law !!
Have you ever put off a project until the last minute even though you knew it would only take a few hours to complete? When you have time, you either use the time to complete the task more slowly or you procrastinate and complete the task right before the due date.
Unfortunately, deadlines don’t always increase our productivity, but understanding Parkinson’s Law and finding ways to overcome it can. In this article delight, you will get to know how Parkinson’s Law works and provide tips for getting your work done in less time.
What is Parkinson’s Law ?
Parkinson’s Law is the old adage that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. The term was first coined by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in a humorous essay he wrote for “The Economist” in 1955.
Parkinson’s law says that, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. Meaning if you can do something in 2 hours but you have 10 hours, you will complete that thing in 10 hours.
Parkinson further went on to write a book titled, Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of Progress. His story in the essay involves a woman whose sole task for the day is to send a postcard. Because she has the entire day to complete this task, she spends an hour finding the card, half an hour finding her glasses, 90 minutes writing the card, and so forth until she fills her day. His story is meant to explain how work expands to fill the time allotted. You can read the original story here https://www.economist.com/news/1955/11/19/parkinsons-law
Studies suggest that when given a task, we think of how much time is available to complete the task instead of how much time we actually need. This mindset results in wasted time and inefficient workflows.
How to overcome Parkinson’s Law
To Get More Done in Less Time, we must know how to overcome Parkinson’s Law. Following these steps helps you in overcoming Parkinson’s Law.
Set self-imposed deadlines
The first step in overcoming Parkinson’s Law is to set self-imposed deadlines. Instead of thinking in the mindset of “how much time do I have?” start thinking about much time you realistically need for each task and set your own deadlines accordingly. The pressure of an imminent deadline is the ultimate fuel. When you’re up against the clock to complete something, your mind makes it happen.
Identify your trade-offs
Most of the time, Parkinson’s Law kicks in when we’re doing too much stuff at the same time. The dreaded multi tasking! Avoid at all costs! Days become a jumble of tasks and hardly any ever get completely finished. And, with the huge number of distractions that tend to creep in, it only gets worse.
To avoid the effects of Parkinson’s Law and to finish tasks sooner, work on them one at a time, focused and with as few distractions as possible. Your trade-offs allow you to see where you have the most wiggle room available in a project, should you need to make adjustments.
Know What ‘Done’ Means
The more of a perfectionist you are, the more likely you’re a victim of Parkinson’s Law: there’s always one more little thing to add, one little refinement to be made. Instead of quantity of work done (number of pages or hours spent), aim for greater quality, and when you’re happy with it – leave it alone. Know where to draw the line so you don’t spend a lot of time ‘overdoing’ it.
Challenge Yourself
When you have a tight time limit or deadline, it forces your brain to figure out ways to get it done in the time available. What works here instead is to set challenging deadlines for yourself. Not too challenging — mildly challenging. The trick here is that they must still be believable .The good thing about regularly challenging yourself that way is that you’ll improve your estimation skills very quickly, in addition to having fun finding creative ways to win these self-imposed challenges.
Try the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique involves focused work sessions with frequent short breaks, with the objective of boosting your productivity while reducing mental fatigue. This technique uses 25-minute work sessions and five-minute breaks to maximize focus.
Final Takeaways : Parkinson’s Law
Parkinson’s Law interferes with your productivity every day but is still the least spoken area of time management. Once you understand what Parkinson’s Law is and how it works, you can use it to your advantage. With the right strategies in place like proactive scheduling, personal deadlines, and task prioritization, you can accomplish more work in less time.
Read more : Paradox of choice: why less is more! ( https://thebrightdelights.com/paradox-of-choice-why-less-is-more/ )