Parkinson's Law

Parkinson's Law is one that few people toss around by name, but we are all incredibly well acquainted with it.

Parkinson's Law: the notion that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

In other words, a project will always take as long as you let it - give me a week, it'll take a week; give me a day, it'll be done in a day.

Now here's where I had a small epiphany (this may just be me, I don't know).

I usually plan my weeks with several dedicated blocks ("Client Work" "Meetings" "Personal Review" etc.) and then events scattered throughout.

My approach has been that I'll commit to as extended a deadline as possible (if they need it in a week, I commit to a week, not less) and then "try" to get it completed before then.

Overdeliver and outperform on your promises.

But usually, I end up doing 80%+ of the work within the last 24 hours before delivery (this is for most things that I don't delegate).

And it's so crazy stressful sometimes (especially when I underestimated the time it would take) and it creates a "busy" lifestyle that I'm getting pretty darn tired of (which seems counterintuitive to me).

What if (remember, this is just me brainstorming here) ... what if I created dedicated space for "immediate completion"?

I think this could look like a couple of things - but I'm thinking immediate follow-up is one I need to work into my schedule.

No more back-to-back meetings; instead, a dedicated block of time following each meeting where I can tackle the tasks from each meetings (my ai-meeting-assistant even tells me all my tasks within 2 minutes of ending the meeting anyway) and delegate the rest... IMMEDIATELY.

How about setting a cap on meetings? ... I've been considering implementing a 4 Level Framework anyway.

Man, how could I even change the agreements I make with clients so that I can outperform still, but not give the team too much time so let the work doesn't expand?

Then I was thinking through how "tomorrow" is just "today" in a of couple hours.

In other words, there is no tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be today when it's here, so all we ever have is "today", and that's all we should focus on (Matthew 6:34).

So why would I plan to extend my work that far out if I could get it done today?

I'm not promised tomorrow or even what it'll be like (Proverbs 27:1; James 4:14), so why not maximize my day to include, even focus on, Immediate Responses?

Imagine how much more we would be capable of if everything we spread out over a week was completed in 2 days... or whatever the application is exactly.

Now I get it, there's also the idea of "too much" ... I still have some work to do there.

But in general, I have to admit, I think our generation has seriously dropped the ball and gotten weak.

We want retirement before we've built a career.

We want the vacations and spa days before we've built the infrastructure to support them on a regular basis.

And I see why, I really do.

We don't want to be like the older generations who worked and worked, FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIVES ... for what; walkers and handicapped saunas? (I checked, and pretty sure my email list is young enough for a comment like that... idk about nathan)

But listen, I'm convinced that we can enjoy life to the fullest while doing more than we ever thought we were capable of.

Yes, discipline is a huge part of it (and wow do I have a lot to work on there, especially in health this next year), but so are things like vision (where are you going?), relationships (who are you going there with), and various tactics (how are you going to get there).

It's not wildly difficult - but it takes some effort that a lot of our generation just isn't willing to give.

So, how can I work Immediate Responses into my daily life?

What are some ways that I can close the window of time between commitment and action?

How do I become an Immediate Responder?

How could that change my life and what I'm capable of?

This was a random one, and those thoughts need some dialing in still - but you get a peak into what I'm thinking about tonight.