Isn't it interesting that the majority of projects, assignments and tasks we have in our life always seem to take the maximum amount of time we have available to complete them?
Finishing the project on deadline day, or handing in a university assignment 5 minutes before it's due - how does work always happen to take the exact amount of time between when you are assigned it to when it is due? and never any less?
First described by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, Parkinson's law states:
'Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.'
A widespread phenomenon, Parkinson's law, can be applied to a vast range of situations, from the vital job application that you hand in the second before it is due to the less important food shop that you inevitably do right before you have dinner. Once you begin noticing Parkinson's law in everyday life, it becomes shockingly evident that we can spend a lot of time - perhaps too much time - lengthening our work for no good reason.
But what if there was a solution that would enable us to finish tasks ahead of the deadline without rushing them or reducing quality?
I propose time-boxing as the solution. A strategy employed by Elon Musk, Bill Gates and many others, time-boxing involves setting time aside for specific tasks (note the emphasis on specific here), aiming to finish the task before the time box ends. In this article I consider the question...
Is Time Boxing the Antidote to Parkinson's Law?
1. A Defined End Time ⌛
The voluntary endpoint is the first reason why I believe time boxing can cure Parkinson's law. Work expands to fill the time available for its completion applies to prolonged projects and minor daily duties, but these small tasks add up - increasing the length of your project. Limit the time you can spend on small tasks to limit the time you have to spend on the big ones.
Additionally, having a clearly defined endpoint gives you the reassurance that a break is coming and adds pressure to intensely focus on what you are doing in the present.
2. Focus 🎯
Remaining focused in modern society is becoming increasingly complex, with constant notifications vying for your attention. Time-boxing allows you to solely focus on one piece of work at a time, safe in the knowledge that other tasks are planned in future time boxes.
Furthermore, focusing on a single task prevents you from unnecessarily extending the length of the work. For example, if we have three tasks, each taking one hour to complete, either we can use three time boxes at one hour apiece, or we can try to work on all three at once - in the hope of finishing early. Despite the appeal of the latter option, the constant context switching and cognitive cost it brings can wreak havoc on your progress.
Do not lengthen the time it takes to complete a task by falsely believing you can do three things simultaneously.
To improve focus and prevent distractions, applications like Forest and Cold Turkey are fantastic.
3. Limit Work in Progress 🤹
The final reason time boxing may be the solution relates to the number of projects we are currently working on. An idea from Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, limiting the number of projects we are currently working on prevents us from undermining progress by switching projects when work gets difficult.
While we may feel more productive when taking on several pieces of work, if we are consistently switching between projects whenever we meet resistance, our progress on each will be reduced, and the time it takes to complete tasks will be considerably increased.
"What usually ends up happening is that you make progress on no fronts - because each time a project starts to feel difficult, or frightening, or boring, you can bounce off to a different one instead." - Oliver Burkeman.
We can control the number of concurrent projects we are working on through a limited number of timeboxes, subsequently interrupting the increasing task length caused by switching from project to project.
Practical Tips
Eat the frog first: Eating the frog first simply refers to doing your most challenging task first thing in the morning, when your energy and motivation levels are highest. Use this to plan your time boxes.
Be realistic: Always make sure you are realistic with the lengths of your time boxes, or you may risk Parkinson's law on a smaller scale. However, do not unnecessarily restrict the time you give yourself for a task - balance is essential here. I recommend adding 20% extra time for each time box as 'buffer time', as life will inevitably get in the way at some point - though you should always aim for the initially allotted time.
Do not overstretch: Although you may be tempted to box your time in five minutes boxes like Elon Musk, this can be unrealistic for many of us. Three to four time boxes daily could be the balance between spending enough time on each task to make progress and completing an adequate number of tasks.
Support your progress: It is important to remember that rest is essential for progress; as Cal Newport once said - work = time x intensity. While the temptation to time box your entire life may be tempting, non-stop work has diminishing returns, and the longer you work, the more your intensity suffers. Be sure to get adequate rest and recovery so you can tackle your next time box with the same intensity as the last.
Conclusion
Occasionally the length of time it takes to complete a project is outside our control, with external factors coming into play and slowing progress. But how often do we sabotage ourselves by using the maximum allotted time to complete a project?
Time-boxing may be a solution, potentially allowing us to finish tasks before they are due and spend more time on activities outside of work.
Thank You
If you made it this far thank you — I appreciate you taking the time to read my work and sincerely hope you enjoyed it. If you would like to continue reading, I’ve included a few of my most popular articles below.
Thanks again,
Rob