Parkinson's LAW: Why MORE time is always less time
- Malavika Prasad
- Jun 16, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 17, 2020
Parkinson’s law helps us understand the bitter sweet truth about our mindset.
Task: Finish up the draft on Parkinson’s law in 1 Hr 30 min.
Timer: 00:00.
Hey you,
Today, let's know about a law that they forgot to mention in school but something we all have experienced.
For those of you, who have tried to improve your productivity using different tools, this must be a familiar term you came across. For the uninitiated, here you go.
Parkinson’s law was first stated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a British historian, in his humorous essay to The Economist. This law was eponymous to his first statement in that essay which was a subtle satire on the inefficiency of the then incumbent bureaucracy.
You can find his essay here:
The statement goes like this.
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
To make it much more relatable- Remember those days in school when we would consider ourselves lucky when the exam dates were scattered, giving us days in between. And how we boasted we would complete 3 revisions of the syllabus by that time ( Preposterous! Why were we even thinking).
Well, the results as you know weren't quite different from the time if you had just one day to prepare the same subject. Sometimes, we performed better under pressure, especially when the exams were held on consecutive days.
So what changed?.
Answer: Mindset.
Parkinson’s law helps us understand the bitter sweet truth about our mindset.
Our minds are great meticulous planners. But when it comes the execution part, it needs a real motivator to keep going.
This is probably the reason why we procrastinate after a day or two.
However, this scenario changes when were at the precipice of a deadline. The motivation level is so high, that we tend to execute better , checking off the list sooner than we imagined.
Does that mean, we should wait until the last minute to get a task done? NO.
But what you could do is :
stop overestimating or underestimating the time you need to get a task done.
Moderate it.
This is easier said than done.
Estimating the time required to complete a task is not a child's game.It requires the following
- an intrinsic understanding on how to perform the task
- gathering your list potential obstacles you are likely to encounter
- allotting some well deserved breaks to keep up the motivation.
- Not being in a haste to get it done
Basically, finding that "Goldilocks sweet spot". Can be hard in the beginning, but trust me,surely worth it at the end. ( Ladies, you would definitely agree on this *wink)
What you could do is:
Analyze your task on parameters like - Difficulty level, urgency and importance. Categorizing the tasks can help you stretch or strain the time allocated accordingly. For example, If its an important task - Allocating time for review can make sure its done with minimal errors.
Know your potential and ask - " Can I do it in this time". If you have a confident yes. Go ahead.
Make time for breaks in your schedule. Cannot stress this enough.
If the task requires creative thinking, set mood for it and allocate adequate time. Very little time could impede your creativity.
Identifying the proper amount of time can boast your productivity in multiple folds. This ensures, you can do a lot number of tasks than you previously thought you could. The law gives an insight on our efficient in making best out of the time.
This marks the end of the article.
Your time of completion: 3 min.
My Timer : 46:23.
Hence proved.
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