Ever wonder to yourself that if only you had more time, more space, or more money, etc – you’d be better off? That’s not likely, according to Parkinson’s Law.
First stated by Cyril Parkinson in 1955 as, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion,” it describes the human nature to procrastinate, goof off, and be otherwise unproductive in the face of little to no consequences. It can be generalized however as:
The demand upon a resource tends to expand to match the supply of the resource.
This could apply to the amount of data in a storage media, the amount of clothes in your closet, or even the amount of time you spent on Facebook.
So how can you minimize the effects of Parkinson’s Law? Acknowledging the problem is always the first step. You could use Critical Chain Project Management. Or you could just start slowly with using a timer to keep yourself in check.
Got other examples of Parkinson’s Law in action or ways to fight it?
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