🦾 Parkinson's Law
Dear Melius Humano,
Parkinson's Law is an adage named after British historian and author Cyril Parkinson, who first stated it in a 1955 article in The Economist.
The law states that "work expands to fill the time available for completion."
In other words, tasks take as much time as one allocates, even if they could be completed more quickly.
(Thanks GPT)
This law is for more than work.
One example I see all the time—and recently after moving into a new warehouse—is table space.
We had four tables, and they were always full.
Then we bought eight more, making it 12 in all.
Then I'd come in while the team was doing orders, and they would ALL BE FULL.
Any home cook knows how to value counter space.
Yet the same thing happens. Get a more oversized kitchen; you're yearning for more space after this law kicks in.
This is extremely useful to consider.
First, consider how it relates to getting things done: give something more time, and it'll take more time; give it less time, and it'll get done by then.
This is why deadlines are imperative for getting stuff done. Without it, we'd still be stuck in the Industrial Revolution.
Another way I've been thinking about this in my productivity routine is with low-value vs. deep work tasks.
When I don't safeguard my deep work routine, small tasks FILL MY ENTIRE DAY. Email, meetings, tickets, and the myriad of small things that need to be done on any given day will always take the hours/days I give them.
So I have to cut them off. A helpful way to think about these two kinds of work is by putting them into shallow and deep work buckets. Then schedule time for each—and ideally far more for the latter than the former.
This is hard to do for many reasons. One is shallow work that triggers dopamine immediately—the task is done and triggers a dopamine feeling of accomplishment.
Deep work, on the other hand, sometimes gives you an immediate reward. Sometimes it's deep thinking and researching, which you don't see since it gets buried deep in your subconscious. That kind of work often moves you forward, yet it doesn't feel like it. It's not until weeks, months, or years later that the effect of that effort comes back to you.
The key difference between top performers and everyone else is the ability to make those deep, long-term, low-immediate-feedback efforts, whether they involve swinging a baseball bat hundreds of times a day (Mickey Mantle) or thinking and researching deeply about big ideas that take years to manifest. Cal Newport wrote a book about this idea that you need to read: Deep Work.
It's not just about work, either. The book contains a hidden philosophy of life—the idea of doing deep things that are more meaningful at the cost of the shallow, less meaningful, but more dopamine-producing distractions.
It reminds me of the story about the reporter who went into Mickey Mantle's basement:
The story describes an encounter between a journalist and Joe DiMaggio at his home. When the journalist asked DiMaggio about being a "natural hitter," DiMaggio took him to the basement, where he demonstrated a series of practice swings while calling out different pitches. After the routine, DiMaggio added a tally mark to the thousands already on the walls, showing the dedication behind his skill. He then told the journalist not to call him a "natural hitter" again, emphasizing that his success resulted from hard work and practice.
Another example is fitness and nutrition.
Most people can't overcome the temptation of unhealthy food, while a few have figured out how to connect their long-term results to the food they eat (or don't) and their training.
If you go to the gym today, you won't "see' a result later on. If you go to the gym three days a week for six months, you'll see small changes along the way, and if you take a before picture, you'll see the "feedback" clearly.
-Colin
There’s a reason we own 6 of these things
Stop waking up in the middle of the night to bright overhead lights. This tricks your biology, making you think it's morning and time to wake up.
Instead, use these leading into bedtime and anytime you wake up.
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My Daily Gut Routine
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I’m Colin. Father, Thinker, Entrepreneur, Investor. I believe in Free Thinking, Free Humans, and Free Markets. The world needs MORE BETTER HUMANS. That’s our only hope for a prosperous future. Read more of my philosophy. 👋 Join me on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, My articles
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