Parkinson's Law - Manage Your Time More Effectively

Let me introduce you to the Parkinson's Law.
The law states this: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."

Essentially the more time you have to complete something, the longer it will take you to finish it.
And the less time you have to complete your goal, the more likely it is that you'll complete it in proposed time.
But if a goal or a task does not have a specific deadline set, it will most likely never get done.

In this video you'll learn how to use the Parkinson's Law to your advantage and manage your time more effectively thanks to it.

#time #management

[One-Ring-To-Rule-Them-All]

I used to be a terrible procrastinator. Now I have found a strategy - maybe it will help somebody. When I get a task I work on it way before I actually should. Because my brain doesn't want to do stuff when it HAS TO, I actually do it before I have to and so the task is done and I have some time off :)

[eggi_rius]

Another way to explain: Work from a calendar, not a to-do list

[baddmanaz]

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

[tomarcher]

I interpret Parkinson's Law a little differently.

While you present the law as being related to prioritization and procrastination, I believe C. Northcote Parkinson was referring to the efficiency with which tasks are processed.

For example, let's say I'm given 8 hours to write a critique of a psychology paper, but I know that I can do it in 3 hours. Because I know I have more time than I need, I will be inefficient with my time. I will start writing without a fully formed plan. I will rat-hole on linked-to research papers. I will be overly meticulous about my verbiage. And so on.

However, if I'm given only 3 hours to complete the same task, I will now become much more focused and efficient with my time. I'll probably even schedule my time - such as 45 minutes to read, 15 minutes to think, 15 minutes to outline, 75 minutes to write, and 30 minutes for copy-edit and APA citations.

In short, Parkinson's Law could be stated as "The amount of time available to complete a task is inversely proportional to the efficiency in carrying out that task."

It's much like everything in life. The more time you have, the less efficient you are with that time. The less time you have, the more efficient you are with that time.

I could be mistaken, but this is how I understand it.

[parisjoy]

I can procrasinate all week long to do housework. Literally do ANYTHING but boring household I hear a knock on the door. THEN that fire is so lit under my butt I'm in super-hyper focused cleaning mode. Or I get that "We'll come over in an hour" phone call from friends. I get more done in that hour than I would have done all week. 🙌✊

[kumailshaikh]

If you don't have fire that's getting bigger, make sure you create one.

Amazing words.

[jasonmillington]

Motivation is so highly nuanced. Procrastination seems more like the effect of dread of doing a task, or the fear of failure, or uncertainty. The more tangible the reward appears to be, people seem to be more motivated. A task that should bring you joy and fulfillment feels like a nuisance, because you just can’t appreciate the long term victory yet. Going to the gym is a good example. Your internal dialogue might be telling you it’s not worth the effort, but that first day you are seeing results then you start to get momentum. It’s hard to work towards a goal without the assurance that your effort will give results. Trust in yourself. Trust in the process. It’s the hardest part of achieving discipline.

[gabrielsanchez]

In medical school, I handed in my assessments 1-2 months before they were due. I couldn't accept being the type of person who is cramming a project days before it is due. Still apply the rule and I get to work on a lot of other projects of my own choosing

[kaypee]

A good rule to inculcate is the 50% rule. This rule works to set your internal dead line at half the specified deadline period. Example, if you are given a weeks notice to prepare a report, set your internal deadline to have it ready by the 3rd or the 4th day. An intuitive basis is that any work can be likened to a work of art; involves 4 stages: preparing for the work, doing the work ( the first cut), editing or correcting or rectifying mistakes and finishing or making it presentable. It can be noticed that removing errors and finishing takes a lot of time. The 50% rule enables you to devote time for the final output. I have tried it and found it working or me well.

[dublew]

A solid grade B+.
I just gave an Asian parent contemptuous look.

[mubtasimzaoad]

This is why we start our study only when the exam date is announced.

[janisricca]

I try to finish my tasks, especially the most important ones, as soon as possible. Not because I want to be productive, but because I am so afraid of failure or not being able to finish on time. This kind of overthinking of mine in a way became helpful LOL

[shreyashah]

Key take aways
1:24 Parkinson's law "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion"
3:08 Set deadlines
Avoid procrastination
Prioritize - cut the unimportant details
4:40 Shorter deadlines = better results
cutting distraction = greater focus
5:03 set a reasonable time frame
start working around it and you shall
discover short cuts along the way.

[SirMasi]

I generally agree, but you're missing something: break up big tasks into small manageable ones, and set many short-term milestones. So instead of "30 days to write a paper" it's "2 days for an outline, 3 days for a first draft, 3 days for an edited draft, etc..." This is a key strategy for "Agile teams" and can also help you estimate the time to complete a large project. Good luck!

[bobrambo]

I bought a rundown nightclub which needed a ton of work, I had no money left and was overcome with the enormity of what lay before me, so my daughter broke it down in to sections on a list, she said do this part first which took about a week, it looked good, I felt great and couldn't wait to get started on the next job on the list, the whole project took a year. Before her advice all I saw was an impossible task.

[Icpandas]

I am a horrible procrastinator but I have gotten better over the years, I use to always wait until the last day to get things done, now I find it easier to work. One day at work while I was between assignments, I found this book that talked about productivity and compared the task to eating frogs. It said "When you have to eat frogs eat the biggest one first." This message has stuck with me for years and helped me with so many tasks I don't feel like doing. If you get the hardest thing done first the rest is smooth sailing and your brain won't fight the work as much. If you have to do a huge project break is down into smaller ones and tackle the hardest one that you can do before the others. A huge reason why we procrastinate is because out brain doesn't want to struggle, or battle with things we don't like to do. Once you get it in your head to say, "ok this needs to get done I don't want to fall behind, " you get a fire under your ass from talking yourself up. It only take a few hours for that fire to burn out though. That is the time to really go after the hard stuff, then by the time that fire gets low and you don't want to do anything you have easy tasks that you can just knock out quickly. another thing that helps is setting tighter deadlines. Making your dead line 2 or 3 days before the final will help you finish it and give you time to double check for errors before it's too late.

[laural]

Yeah... Right now I'm watching this video(and other similar vodeos) instead of doing history homework for tomorrow and it's 11pm. How ironic 😂😅

[rowedaescueta]

What I learned :

Every minute, second counts. You cannot bring time back.

Plan. Do your tasks early.

Learn time management. Deadline aren't infinite

Use time you have. Make it better than "just"

Thank you for this video!!

[srilankanguy]

I've just discovered a system to get things done. It might help you too. I watch a movie or show while working (playing a video game that you can pause anytime also works). I watch for 10 minutes and then do the work for 10 minutes. After a few rounds sometimes you may be motivated and increase the work time to 15-19 minutes (it's not essential to increase the work time, do it if you feel like it)... By the end of the movie you would have done a decent amount of work. It's crazy that this method really improves my productivity. I wish I had figured this out a long time ago. It really helps with that weird fear/anxiety of starting big tasks

[klaymonkey]

How to put pressure on yourself to complete tasks in a way that creates focus? I've found that If i'm assigned a particular goal tasked by someone else, I am more likely to complete it, but when it comes to personal goals, I tend to get complacent with my time.