Parkinson's Law How to Better Manage Time?

The Parkinson's Law Says,"work expands until the time available for completion is over." It is one of the laws best known and applied in the administration of time.

If you've spent time reading about productivity, you've probably read about this law before. You will know the name or concept, although you may not know exactly how to implement it to be as effective as you can. This article will teach you how to do it.

Parkinson's law

This observation was made in 1955 by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a famous British historian and writer, appearing for the first time in an article for The Economist and later becoming the focus of Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress.

Basically, Parkinson's Law says that if you give yourself a week to complete a two-hour task, then the task will increase in complexity and less motivating to fill that week. It is even possible that the extra time does not go to work, but with stress and tension.

It is therefore important to assign the right amount of time to a task, to gain more time and reduce complexity.

Examples of the Real-Life Parkinson's Law

Parkinson's Law How to Better Manage Time?

Whether you are conscious or not, you have probably experienced the principle of Parkinson's many times in real life:

  • In college you had the whole semester to write a paper although you finished in the last 4 days, sending it minutes before the deadline.
  • You've had a whole week to communicate something important even though you've done it at the last possible moment.
  • You've had all year to take care of yourself before a wedding or vacation, but you start your diet and exercise a month before your trip.
  • As the same author of the theory said: an old woman can spend all day writing and sending a postcard to her niece.

If you have experienced any of these situations, you will know what I am talking about. For months you are"paralyzed"unable to work and suddenly, you start to work quickly to finish a task just before time.

Parkinson's Law and Time Management

Parkinson's Law How to Better Manage Time?  1

The British historian Cyril Parkinson Observed this trend during his stay in the British Civil Service. He realized that as the bureaucracy expanded, it became more inefficient and observed it in another variety of circumstances; As something increased, its efficiency diminished.

He found that even simple tasks increased in complexity if the time to complete them increased. On the contrary, as the time set for finishing them decreased, the tasks were simpler to finish.

This concept is related to the belief that it is better to work longer than efficiently. That mentality is reflected in the companies in which the employees are rewarded for being more time working instead of produced or the objectives fulfilled.

How to Use Parkinson's Law for Your Benefit

Few people will tell you to work less. Therefore, if you are going to implement Parkinson's law you will have to do it yourself by applying artificial limitations to do the tasks / work / activities efficiently.

  • Work without the charger on your laptop. Try to do the tasks (read the email, write a report...) before you run out of battery.
  • Divides tasks into subtasks and sets a time limit for completing them.
  • It is okay to set goals to write an article a day, Run X hours Or go to the gym, although it is best that you try to do them before, for example, 12:00 am.
  • Extreme case: stop working after 14:00. If you get up early, you'll have enough time to finish all you have to do and have the afternoon off.
  • Blackmail yourself: Have a partner make you pay if you work beyond a time limit or you do not achieve a certain goal. If you use this approach, you will be motivated by the economic consequences.
  • Establish a difficult time limit. You can lose a considerable weight in 12 months although you can also lose it in 6 months if you see it as your limit.
  • Limit unproductive tasks to 30 minutes each day: view social networks or email.

Visit this link to learn how to effectively target yourself .

Do not take work home

Working more hours is not the way to show more dedication or be more productive.

It is likely that

  • Work more and do less.
  • Be an addict, not to work, but to think that you are working.

If you put a time limit of work, you will be more productive and you will have a better life of leisure and social. Creating artificial constraints to work will in turn create more freedom and Greater productivity .

Refuse to take work home, do not work on the sofa or bed. When you leave the office / workplace, simply stop working.

Creates restrictions to create freedom

The main lesson of Parkinson's law is that restrictions can create freedom. It is a counterintuitive though real thought that can be applied even to the simplest tasks.

With restrictions I also mean to specify. The more specific and restrictive something is, the simpler it will be.

  • Think of 10 things in your daily life. Now think of 10 things from the table of your work. Which is simpler?
  • Name 10 fun things. Now he names 10 fun team sports. Which is simpler?

Specify and constraints create freedom and foster creativity; Will be a fundamental tool to increase your productivity and be an efficient creator.

Using Parkinson's Law to Achieve Difficult Goals

Although not specified in the official theory of Parkinson's, you can use the reverse rule to increase the quality of your work.

If you put more difficult goals to achieve, you will create a gap between what you can do and what you want to do.

It's about choosing a great goal, engaging with it and finding a way to achieve it.

The Basics of the Parkinson's Law

If the job expands to fill the time you have planned to complete it, plan less time to work quickly.

If you want to read the article that Parkinson wrote, You can do it here .

And how will you use this law? Do you think it's verdict?


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