How the Parkinson Principle Can Help You Work More Efficiently and Productively

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Sarah. Sarah was a hard worker and always completed her tasks to the best of her ability. However, she had a tendency to procrastinate and often found herself rushing to finish tasks at the last minute. She felt that she needed more time to complete her work, so she would always set long deadlines for herself.

One day, Sarah’s boss noticed that she was taking longer than necessary to complete her tasks. He suggested that she try setting shorter deadlines for herself, as this might help her to be more focused and productive. Sarah was skeptical at first, but she decided to give it a try.

To her surprise, Sarah found that setting shorter deadlines actually worked. She was more motivated and focused, and was able to complete her tasks more efficiently. She realized that the Parkinson principle was at work - her work was expanding to fill the time available for its completion.

Sarah’s boss also noticed a change in her productivity. He realized that the Parkinson principle applied not only to individual workers, but to teams as well. If he gave his team a longer deadline for a project, they would be less focused and motivated to complete it efficiently. On the other hand, if he gave them a shorter deadline, they would be more productive and focused.

Sarah’s boss also noticed that the Parkinson principle applied to meetings and emails. If a meeting was scheduled for too long, it would often lead to unnecessary discussion and tangents. If an email thread was open-ended, it would lead to endless back-and-forth communication. However, if meetings and emails were given a shorter timeframe, participants would be more focused and productive in their communication.

Despite its limitations, the Parkinson principle remained a useful concept for Sarah and her boss. By recognizing the impact of time on their work, they were able to better manage their schedules and deadlines, and work towards achieving their goals more effectively.

In the end, Sarah learned that sometimes, less is more. By setting shorter deadlines for herself, she was able to work more efficiently and achieve better results. And as a team, they were able to work more effectively by setting shorter deadlines for their projects, meetings, and communication. The Parkinson principle may not be a universal law, but it certainly helped Sarah and her team to be more productive and efficient in their work.