Welcome Professionals…

…did you ever hear of Parkinson’s law? It states that:

“work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”

Although it was meant in a humorous way when first articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in an essay published in The Economist in 1955, it is widely believed to be true. We all can think of examples proving the truth of this statement.

It also applies to consulting work. It is one of the reasons why we operate under last minute pressure. It is also one important driver – though certainly not the only reason – why case teams work all night until complete exhaustion.

The only way that I found to work around Parkinson’s law is to set a thoughtful deadline and an allocated timeframe for each and every activity. I book working blocks for each task into my calendar and try to stick to it. I even reserve blocks for meals and free time. It works for me.

Have you found other ways? Let me know!

Malte

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