Parkinson’s Law—A Remote Worker’s Bugaboo

You are working remotely from home with a task that takes two hours to complete. You have four hours available, so you plan to finish early. But the job takes all four hours! What happened?

You are likely a victim of Parkinson’s Law. It states that a task or job will consume all the time allowed to complete it. It feels like the work expanded to fill the time available, but it didn’t—you simply filled the time with distractions. Remote workers are vulnerable to Parkinson’s Law because no one generally is hovering over their work. To fight back, set deadlines much shorter than needed. Try using a timer set to sound every 10 minutes to increase awareness and help you stay focused. You will soon learn to avoid deadline panic, increase your awareness of distractions, and experience more job satisfaction. Outside of work, you will enjoy more leisure time and productivity.

Keith Stein | 11/12/2020

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