Time management is a common challenge most of us struggle with. When competing priorities come up at once, it can leave us wondering how we can find a way to get it all done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf only I had more time,\u201d we think to ourselves. And yet in reality when deadlines approach, self-discipline kicks into full gear (well, for most of us, hopefully), and we pull through to complete the things we need to. Why is that?<\/p>\n
In this post, we\u2019ll go through:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Parkinson\u2019s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Basically, we pace ourselves to finish a task based on how much time we\u2019re given to do it. When we\u2019re given too much time to complete a task, we tend to procrastinate getting it done.<\/p>\n For instance, if you have two weeks to prepare an agenda for a sales meeting<\/a>, you might fill that time identifying every nuance of what could go wrong and what needs to be planned in advance. While overpreparation isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing, lost opportunity cost is (more on this later).<\/p>\n Given the length of time you have to prepare, you might identify way too much information to share with your prospect without realizing that they know more than you think (since most information is just a click away).<\/p>\n By doing something that produces less value than alternatives to what you could be doing, you end up with lost opportunity cost.<\/p>\n What this boils down to is a simple yet powerful concept: we can usually accomplish things in less time than we think.<\/p>\n The good news is this: time management<\/a> is psychological. Being productive has less to do with how much time you have and more to do with how you make use of that time. Sure, productivity metrics<\/a> are useful, but good time management ultimately means allocating the right amount of time towards the right things. We\u2019ve all been there\u2014putting off work only to feel remorse for the wasted time later. You know there\u2019s a better way, yet you still struggle with feeling motivated to get over the hump. So let\u2019s step back and break down the less obvious benefits of productivity.<\/p>\n A New Zealand company put Parkinson\u2019s Law to the test by experimenting with four-day workweeks\u2014instead of employees working 40 hours each week, they worked 32 hours. The result was a 20% boost in productivity, a 24% improvement<\/a> in work-life balance<\/a>, and a 7% decrease in stress levels.<\/a><\/p>\n This experiment not only shows that the same amount of work can be accomplished in less time, but that the ability to do so has positive effects on overall well-being too.<\/p>\n This is huge. Practicing productivity doesn\u2019t just help with knocking items off the to-do list quicker, it contributes to long-term benefits for mental health. Who doesn’t want to sign up for that?<\/p>\n It\u2019s true, not every company has the means to switch to a four-day workweek. Though as individuals, we all have the ability to practice productivity on a smaller scale in our day-to-day work lives.<\/p>\n Understanding Parkinson\u2019s Law is a key first step to unlocking the power of all those other productivity tips<\/a> out there. By knowing how the psychology of time management influences how you work smarter, you\u2019ll be able to apply productivity systems<\/a> to supercharge your workday. If the goal is to dedicate the right amount of time to the right things, then cutting out distractions to focus better is one way to get there. In today\u2019s world of working online, collaborating digitally, and using video conferencing software<\/a>, we\u2019re faced with an increasing number of new challenges that make for (seemingly) never-ending distractions.<\/p>\n For instance, according to our global survey<\/a> of 2,000 knowledge workers, 69% of employees were spending up to 60 minutes each day just navigating between apps. That\u2019s a lot of wasted time.<\/p>\n For those of us who do most of our work online, it seems impossible to totally remove ourselves from distractions in the digital space. But here\u2019s the silver lining: as much as technology can pull us away from our work, the right tools can push us closer to completing what we need to do.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at four ways to use technology to achieve productivity:<\/p>\n When a team struggles to define expectations and accountabilities upfront, counterproductive tendencies may crop up.<\/p>\n For instance, say you start a new project and your project manager is waiting for the business analyst to start defining the requirements. At the same time, the business analyst assumes the project manager will provide the starting foundation. Meanwhile, your developer on the team sees no updates between the two and believes that the project is on hold, so she doesn\u2019t chime in. Progress slows and your team ends up doing nothing.<\/p>\n This social phenomenon is called social loafing<\/a>\u2014this is when members of a team put in less effort compared to what they would have working alone.<\/p>\n A better way to manage your team? Have a collaboration hub<\/a> that contains tools for stuff like communication and file sharing. For example, the RingCentral app<\/a> is designed to help prevent confusion around who owns what\u2014you can keep on top of what needs to be done by messaging each other, video-calling, and sharing files in real time.<\/p>\n Within this system, everyone can be tagged to specific tasks to avoid people dropping the ball on responsibilities. By having shared team conversation threads (you can even assign tasks to each other), your team knows who is doing what and when tasks are due:<\/p>\nWhat is Parkinson’s Law?<\/h2>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\nWhy does Parkinson\u2019s Law matter to you?<\/h2>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n4 ways to overcome Parkinson’s Law<\/h2>\n
1. Collaborating: accountability is king<\/h3>\n