Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsUnderstanding Parkinson’s LawGiving Yourself Too Much Time Can BackfireExplanationsHow to Avoid ItTime Management Tips

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Table of Contents

Understanding Parkinson’s Law

Giving Yourself Too Much Time Can Backfire

Explanations

How to Avoid It

Time Management Tips

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Parkinson’s law is an axiom that states: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, things become harder to complete when more time is given to complete it as the build-up to the task becomes stressful and daunting. The adage was named for Cyril Northcote Parkinson, who first described the phenomenon in a 1955 humor essay published in “The Economist.”

The main premise of Parkinson’s law is that the complexity of a task tends to grow the more time is allotted for its completion.

An Example of How This Law WorksFor example, if you give yourself a week to finish something that would only take an hour to complete, then that one-hour task will grow in complexity, requiring more time and resources than were originally needed.

An Example of How This Law Works

For example, if you give yourself a week to finish something that would only take an hour to complete, then that one-hour task will grow in complexity, requiring more time and resources than were originally needed.

Parkinson’s law can also lead people to procrastinate, leaving tasks until right before they are due. You might initially feel relieved that you have plenty of time to finish a project, only to put it off as long as possible.

This expansion means that tasks become even more daunting, requiring much more mental energy. This means that they frequently become a source ofstressand anxiety.

In Parkinson’s original example, a woman’s sole task for the day was to mail a postcard. As a result of having the entire day to complete the simple task, the amount of work and time required expanded to fill the whole day.

The fictional woman spends a half-hour searching for her reading glasses. Writing the postcard takes another two hours. More time is spent finding a stamp, writing the address, and walking the postcard to the post office.

While Parkinson’s original example was exaggerated for humous effect, it also clearly illustrated how giving yourself too much time to do a simple task makes it more complex and time-consuming.

Some researchers have proposed that Parkinson’s law can also apply to how fast and how much people benefit from psychotherapy. For example, brief psychotherapies that involve establishing a set completion date might result in the “work” expanding to fill the time available.

Explanations for Parkinson’s Law

One reason why this phenomenon happens lies in how people tend to approach tasks. Research indicates that when people start a new project, they tend to focus on how much time they have available to do it instead of how much time the task would take to complete.

This approach naturally means that tasks become more time-consuming and onerous than they likely are. By focusing on how much time we have to do something, we assume that the task will require that much time.

How to Avoid Falling Victim to Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s law isn’t a magic formula or a fixed rule. But it is an observation you can use to help you become more productive. Some strategies that can help you make the most of your time without falling victim to Parkinson’s law include.

Plan Your Time Carefully

When you have a lot of time to complete a task, it’s easy to push it off until later. But if you plan your time carefully and set deadlines for yourself, you can avoid falling into theprocrastinationtrap.

Write Down Your Goals

This type of reflective goal-tracking not only helps keep you accountable, but it can also help you bettervisualizeyour progress, your remaining work, and whether or not the project is appearing more daunting than it really is.

Set Realistic Deadlines

When you have a clear understanding of how long a task should take, you can avoid the tendency to expand the work to fill the time you have available.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Use a Timer

One effective way to avoid Parkinson’s law is to use a timer. When you know that you only have a certain amount of time to complete a task, you’re less likely to expand the work to fill the available time.

Break Tasks Down

Break larger projects into smaller tasks and give yourself self-imposed deadlines throughout the project. When facing a big project, it can often seem more daunting and time-consuming than it actually is. Instead of making progress, you might feel overwhelmed and unsure where to begin.

Take Regular Breaks

When you’re working on a project, it’s important to take regular breaks. This will help you avoid burnout and keep your mind fresh. Try working on a project during your most productive period andtake a breakwhen you start to feel distracted or less motivated. Just make sure that you don’t use the break as an excuse to procrastinate.

RecapStrategies that can help you combat Parkinson’s law include planning your time, writing down goals, using realistic deadlines, and prioritizing tasks. Breaking tasks into smaller steps and setting a time to focus on each step can also help.

Recap

Strategies that can help you combat Parkinson’s law include planning your time, writing down goals, using realistic deadlines, and prioritizing tasks. Breaking tasks into smaller steps and setting a time to focus on each step can also help.

Use Time Management Strategies

You can also use many differenttime management strategiesto avoid Parkinson’s law. Using these strategies, you can ensure that you make the most of your time and avoid expanding the work to fill the time you have available.

Strategies that can help you manage your time wisely include:

Research suggests that time management can positively affect productivity—but it actually has an even stronger impact on well-being. Learning to manage your time well can reduce emotional exhaustion, stress, and work-life conflict.

A Word From Verywell

While Parkinson’s law is a phenomenon that can lead to wasted time and inefficient work, it doesn’t have to be a problem if you’re aware of it. Using some of the strategies above, you can avoid falling victim to Parkinson’s law and make the most of your time.

How to Overcome Procrastination for Improved Mental Health

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Parkinson CN.Parkinson’s Law: or, The Pursuit of Progress. London: J. Murray; 1958.Appelkaum SA.Parkinson’s Law in psychotherapy.Int J Psychoanal Psychother. 1975;4:426-36. PMID: 1158604.Svartdal F, Løkke JA.The ABC of academic procrastination: Functional analysis of a detrimental habit.Front Psychol. 2022;0. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019261Travers CJ, Morisano D, Locke EA.Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study.Br J Educ Psychol. 2015;85(2):224-241. doi:10.1111/bjep.12059Ramkumar P, Acuna DE, Berniker M, Grafton ST, Turner RS, Kording KP.Chunking as the result of an efficiency computation trade-off.Nat Commun. 2016;7:12176. doi:10.1038/ncomms12176Aeon B, Faber A, Panaccio A.Does time management work? A meta-analysis.PLoS One. 2021 Jan 11;16(1):e0245066. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245066

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Parkinson CN.Parkinson’s Law: or, The Pursuit of Progress. London: J. Murray; 1958.Appelkaum SA.Parkinson’s Law in psychotherapy.Int J Psychoanal Psychother. 1975;4:426-36. PMID: 1158604.Svartdal F, Løkke JA.The ABC of academic procrastination: Functional analysis of a detrimental habit.Front Psychol. 2022;0. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019261Travers CJ, Morisano D, Locke EA.Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study.Br J Educ Psychol. 2015;85(2):224-241. doi:10.1111/bjep.12059Ramkumar P, Acuna DE, Berniker M, Grafton ST, Turner RS, Kording KP.Chunking as the result of an efficiency computation trade-off.Nat Commun. 2016;7:12176. doi:10.1038/ncomms12176Aeon B, Faber A, Panaccio A.Does time management work? A meta-analysis.PLoS One. 2021 Jan 11;16(1):e0245066. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245066

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Parkinson CN.Parkinson’s Law: or, The Pursuit of Progress. London: J. Murray; 1958.Appelkaum SA.Parkinson’s Law in psychotherapy.Int J Psychoanal Psychother. 1975;4:426-36. PMID: 1158604.Svartdal F, Løkke JA.The ABC of academic procrastination: Functional analysis of a detrimental habit.Front Psychol. 2022;0. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019261Travers CJ, Morisano D, Locke EA.Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study.Br J Educ Psychol. 2015;85(2):224-241. doi:10.1111/bjep.12059Ramkumar P, Acuna DE, Berniker M, Grafton ST, Turner RS, Kording KP.Chunking as the result of an efficiency computation trade-off.Nat Commun. 2016;7:12176. doi:10.1038/ncomms12176Aeon B, Faber A, Panaccio A.Does time management work? A meta-analysis.PLoS One. 2021 Jan 11;16(1):e0245066. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245066

Parkinson CN.Parkinson’s Law: or, The Pursuit of Progress. London: J. Murray; 1958.

Appelkaum SA.Parkinson’s Law in psychotherapy.Int J Psychoanal Psychother. 1975;4:426-36. PMID: 1158604.

Svartdal F, Løkke JA.The ABC of academic procrastination: Functional analysis of a detrimental habit.Front Psychol. 2022;0. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019261

Travers CJ, Morisano D, Locke EA.Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study.Br J Educ Psychol. 2015;85(2):224-241. doi:10.1111/bjep.12059

Ramkumar P, Acuna DE, Berniker M, Grafton ST, Turner RS, Kording KP.Chunking as the result of an efficiency computation trade-off.Nat Commun. 2016;7:12176. doi:10.1038/ncomms12176

Aeon B, Faber A, Panaccio A.Does time management work? A meta-analysis.PLoS One. 2021 Jan 11;16(1):e0245066. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245066

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