How to beat Parkinson's Law

written by JOSH GESSNER | The Curious Competitor

A concept I can't stop thinking about...

Parkinson's Law.

Here's how to beat it (by using the Lion Framework):

What is Parkinson's Law?

In 1955, Cyril Northcote Parkinson published an article in the Economist.

In it, he shares a story of woman - who was tasked to send a post card.

For most of us - writing and sending a postcard can be done within minutes.

But this woman took the whole day to send the postcard.

Why?

That was her only task of the day.

She spent:

• 60 mins looking for the card

• 30 mins looking for her glasses

• 90 mins writing the card

On and on... until her day was filled.

This is the essence of Parkinson's Law.

It's a phenomenon where people procrastinate to fill the available time for its completion.

Since the woman had all day - she spent the whole day for that one task.

I see this happen in my life:

I made a commitment to write at least 5 x week.

That comes in the form of Twitter threads and newsletters.

Usually these will take me 60-90 mins daily.

However when I allocate more time to write...

I find myself procrastinating.

I do anything but write.

• Youtube

• Thinking

• Sipping on Coffee

Before I know it I have to be somewhere in an hour, forcing me to crank it out.

So I did some research on how to hack Parkinson's Law.

The best framework I found?

Naval's Lion Framework.

The most effective way to work is to:

Sprint when inspired. Rest. Repeat.

"It’s more like a lion hunting and less like a marathoner running."

What does this look like?

Instead of spending all day on projects:

• Go as hard as you can for 1-2 hrs

• Rest the brain

• Repeat 1-2 x day

Cal Newport states most people are limited to 4 hours of intense thinking each day.

An interesting part of this framework:

Rest is the most important factor.

Our best ideas are generated when:

• Walking

• Reading

• Relaxing and Thinking

"Grinding like a factory worker when you are tired probably does not lead to any breakthroughs or insights."

Main Lessons:

• Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

• Instead: Sprint for 1-2 hrs.

• Rest to generate ideas.