How to make Parkinson's Law work for you

Isn't this the most tempting and appealing title of any book published this year? Even so,  The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich sounds just a little bit too good to be true, no?

This is about right however:

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 you a week to complete the same task, it's six days of making a mountain out of a molehill. If I give you two months, God forbid, it becomes a mental monster. The end product of the shorter deadline is almost inevitably of equal or higher quality due to greater focus.

This presents a very curious phenomenon. There are two synergistic approaches for increasing productivity that are inversions of one another:

1.) Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time. (80/20)
2.) Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important. (Parkinson's Law).

The best solution is to use both together: Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to income and schedule them with very short and clear deadlines.

This is why I used to enjoy writing rugby match reports. You had to be finished within 40 minutes of the final whistle.

[via Lifehacker]

Comments

[Randy (Internet Ronin)]

I think it also explains why most bloggers are not successful. Keep that in mind, please, because I really do enjoy yours!