Parkinson’s Law is a well-known adage that relates to time management and productivity.
What is Parkinson’s Law?
The core statement of Parkinson’s Law is: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
This means that if you allocate an excessive amount of time for a task, the task will grow in complexity, or you will simply take longer to complete it (often due to procrastination, overthinking, or unnecessary perfectionism), using all the allotted time.
For example, if you are given two weeks for a project that could realistically be done in two days, you are likely to take the full two weeks.
Origin
- Author: The concept was first articulated by British naval historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson.
- Publication: It appeared in a satirical essay published in The Economist in 1955, and later in his book, Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of Progress (1958).
- Original Context: The law was originally a humorous observation and satire on the inefficiencies of bureaucracy and the administrative state, where he also noted that the number of employees in a bureaucracy tends to grow regardless of the amount of work to be done.
Implications for Business and Productivity
In a professional setting, Parkinson’s Law is a major cause of:
- Reduced Productivity: Tasks take longer than necessary, leading to wasted time and resources.
- Procrastination: Knowing there is ample time encourages delaying the start of a task until the deadline is imminent.
- Increased Complexity (Scope Creep): More time leads to the unconscious addition of unnecessary details or complexity, making the task bigger than it needs to be.
- Inflated Costs: Longer project timelines increase labor costs.
How to Overcome Parkinson’s Law
The key to managing and overcoming Parkinson’s Law is to impose constraints on your time:
- Set Tight, Realistic Deadlines: Instead of focusing on the official due date, estimate the time you actually need and set a strict, self-imposed deadline for yourself.
- Break Down Tasks: Divide large projects into smaller, manageable sub-tasks (or milestones) and assign short, firm deadlines to each one. This maintains momentum and prevents the entire project from expanding.
- Use Time-Boxing Techniques: Allocate a fixed, limited amount of time for a specific task and stick to it (e.g., the Pomodoro Technique). Once the time is up, you move on, forcing focus and efficiency.
- Prioritize: Clearly identify the most important activities so you can focus your limited time on high-impact work rather than trivial details.
- Limit Resources: Just as work expands to fill the time available, resources (including budget or people) tend to be fully used. By limiting non-essential resources, you force greater efficiency.