Parkinson’s law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, if you have 8 hours to do a 2 hour project, it will take 8 hours to get done.
This is one of the problems with being your own boss. Before you know it, the day has gone by and you’re looking at your 327 task list with only three items crossed off.
What to do?
1) Keep a time log of your activities for a week, and how much time they take. Don’t do anything yet! Just the action of writing it down is enough to bring your habits to awareness and you’ll find yourself more focused and on task.
2) Make yourself have a daily “quitting time” deadline – a time to leave work daily each day, even if some tasks remain unfinished. Otherwise, your de facto deadline becomes “whenever I pass out from exhaustion at the crack of dawn.” And Parkinson’s Law will make those unlimited late hours the most unproductive time of all.
Have you noticed how quickly you clean your house and do laundry and have a nice meal when you know the in-laws are visiting? Or how quickly you button up lingering issues when you know you’re going to be out of the office for a week?
I promise: After about a week of time-logging, and self-imposed “quitting time” deadlines, you’ll start to notice heightened productivity: more done in less time and with greater ease.
