Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Cyril Northcote Parkinson 1909 – 1993

Cyril Parkinson was a British historian, author, and naval officer best known for formulating Parkinson's Law in 1955, which humorously and insightfully described the inefficiencies of bureaucracy and time management. His work extended beyond this law, as he wrote extensively on British history, naval affairs, and management principles.

Parkinson’s Law states that if you give yourself one week to complete a task, it will take one week—even if it could have been done in two hours. This happens because we naturally inflate the complexity of tasks to match the time we’ve allocated.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you are applying Parkinson’s law to your detriment?

When I first heard of Parkinson’s Law, I wondered if I might be able to use it to my advantage. I started shortening the time I was allocating to tasks and, in turn, was getting much more done.

If I haven’t started my morning with a workout, I know I need at least 30 minutes of vigorous movement every day before noon. I know I must exercise daily as a component of my self-care, not just for physical health but for mental clarity and overall well-being.

I also know this self-care can be used as a justifiably healthy procrastination tool for not calling on prospective clients in this part of the day.

In my workouts these days, I limit my rest breaks to 1 minute between sets and achieve just as much, if not more in a 30-minute session than I do in the 1 hour I was previously allocating.

This is particularly effective with “middle of the day” or golden hour workouts, performed in peak times for customer engagement or sales, considered the best time of day to make calls or send emails when people are most likely to respond.

As much as I am so very grateful that amazing people trust me to help them grow their businesses and master their 8 masts of mastery, I am also very aware that most of these people need me to motivate them to commit to their self-worth and self-empowerment, which can’t be done with a barbell on my back.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you could apply Parkinson’s law to your benefit?

Applying Parkinson’s Law effectively can significantly enhance time management, productivity, and efficiency.

Most people fall victim to Parkinson’s Law without realizing it. They give themselves too much time to complete tasks, causing procrastination, inefficiency, and stress. Instead, you can use this law to your advantage by structuring your time effectively.

Here’s how the average person (whether an entrepreneur, employee, student, or parent) can apply Parkinson’s Law to work smarter, not harder.

Set Artificially Tight Deadlines (Work Shrinks to Fit the Time You Allow) You take all day to clean your house because there’s no deadline. A work task that should take 30 minutes ends up taking two hours.

Set a deadline that is HALF the time you think you need. If you think a task will take 2 hours, give yourself 1 hour. Use a timer (Pomodoro technique: 25-minute bursts with breaks). Instead of “I’ll work on this project today,” say, “I will finish it by 3:00 PM.” Instead of cleaning all day, say, “I’ll clean the house in 30 minutes.”

Time-Box Tasks (Work Expands if You Don’t Set Limits): Set fixed time blocks for everything. Assign a start and end time. Instead of checking emails randomly, check them only twice daily (e.g., at 9 AM and 4 PM). Cap meetings at 30-45 minutes (instead of the default 60 minutes). Instead of mindless browsing, set a 15-minute scrolling limit.

Work in Sprints Instead of Open-Ended Sessions Work intensely for 90 minutes, then take a 30-minute break. Repeat 2-3 cycles per day for maximum productivity.

Instead of “studying all day,” do 90-minute focused study blocks. Work in short, intense bursts, then step away. Do housework in 20-minute power sprints instead of all day.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you commit to one of the above time optimization methods to get more stuff done in a day?

The average person loses hours every day because they let work expand unnecessarily. But when you set constraints, work faster, and use deadlines wisely, you get 10X more done in less time.

Parkinson’s Law is a silent killer of productivity, but once you recognize it, you can break free from wasted time. The key is to be deliberate about how you allocate time and enforce strict limits.

While you’re thinking about that, think about this and have a Gr8 day!

Be well.

DL

“If you love life, you will love time, for time is what life is made up of.”

Bruce Lee 1940-1973