Parkinson’s Law
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Parkinson’s Law is the adage that:
“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
What It Means:
If you give yourself a week to complete a two-hour task, the task will likely take the whole week because you’ll stretch it out, procrastinate, or overcomplicate it.
Origin:
Coined by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1955, based on his observations of how bureaucracies grow inefficiently over time.
Real-Life Examples:
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Emails: If you allot all morning to clear your inbox, you’ll likely take all morning—even if it could be done in 30 minutes.
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Meetings: A 1-hour meeting will take a full hour, even if only 20 minutes of content is needed.
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Projects: Teams may use up all the budget and timeline even if the work could’ve been finished sooner.
How It Applies to Business:
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Encourages time-boxing tasks to increase productivity.
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Helps prevent scope creep and decision paralysis.
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Supports leaner project timelines and better focus.
How to Counteract Parkinson’s Law:
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Set shorter, realistic deadlines.
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Use tools like Pomodoro Technique (work in focused 25-minute intervals).
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Apply 80/20 thinking (focus on tasks that deliver the most results).
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