Parkinson's Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of the imminent deadline. If I give you 24 hours to complete a project, the time pressure forces you to focus on execution, and you have no choice but to do only the bare essentials. If I give... See more

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Since then, Parkinson’s law has become the best-known explanation for why we can take three months to write a twenty-page essay or miraculously finish it in just one day. The problem with Parkinson’s law is that most of the time it works against us. Giving yourself three months to

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