Put A Time Cap On It

Use Parkinson’s Law to Improve Your Time Management

I have always considered myself a person who struggles with time management, procrastination, or just leaving things for last minute.

At some point a few years ago, I realized that I was using this belief as an 'excuse' I gave myself (and others) as to why I didn't finish tasks and projects, why I was always late to things, or why I would make a list of all the projects I wanted to try/work on and all the skills I wanted to learn and this list would only grow but not really get reduced or change at all.

I think most of all have experienced this same feeling of pushing things back and of not making much progress at all in some area or other of our lives.

There's only so much time and energy that we have in a given day and getting through all the things we want to do can often feel like an impossible mission.

What To Do?

• Start Here

The first step I learned to get better at managing your time is prioritization. What are REALLY the most important tasks, activities, events, and interactions you want to get accomplished any given day?

Ask yourself this question every morning before you start the day or the previous evening and plan for the day ahead. Limit yourself to establishing 3 to 5 main tasks to get done in one day (with only 1 or 2 big tasks for the day).

Once you get clear on what is important each day, it's fundamental to have a few systems in place that help you keep on track, avoid interruptions, and keep momentum and progress going.

• A Few Practices To Try

For this, I have been able to implement a few different practices, such as keeping a daily, weekly, and monthly physical schedule, checking off the tasks I complete, striving to keep a streak of habits that are important to me (and not miss more than 2 days in a row), and turning on phone alarms and reminders of important meetings and to-dos, as well as turning off notifications or putting my phone in 'Do Not Disturb' mode while working on important tasks.

• The One Big Shift That Can Change Your Time Management

But the one thing that has made the bigger impact in helping me improve my time management skills and really one of the smallest shifts with the bigger impacts, has been to put a time limit to the most important tasks of the day.

For this, you will encounter a lot of trial and error and you will need to redefine how much time you believe each task will take you but once you do and have a better idea of your timing, putting a time cap and limiting yourself to getting something done within a timeframe will help you keep more of the commitments you make and create more progress in your life.

Why this small shift can create such a big impact in your time management skills and productivity?

Because of the effect of Parkinson's Law in action.

Parkinson's Law is an old adage, first coined by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1955 that says that "work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion".

So, the more time you give yourself to complete a task (especially those tasks that you don't enjoy or that you tend to procrastinate on), the more time it will take you to complete it.

"Work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion". - Parkinson's Law

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