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Hello! Cyril Norcote Parkinson published a series of conclusions in The Economist in 1955 that stirred up the public and destroyed beliefs about the fairness of the bureaucracy.
A little later, he published the book «Parkinson’s Law», in which he outlined the most valuable ideas that will help every person achieve tremendous success, regardless of his type of activity.
And today we will look at each of them, as well as recommendations, following which you can also significantly improve your productivity and move up the career ladder.
Parkinson’s laws
Work fills the time allotted for it
That is, if you were assigned some even simple task and provided quite optimal deadlines, you are likely to complete it throughout the allotted time. By the way, this is how procrastination manifests itself.
Remember all the well-known examples of students who start preparing for exams at the last moment, although they receive a list of topics and tickets almost at the beginning of the school year.
If you understand that you have, say, a week to submit a new project, you will find good reasons for all 7 days that you can rely on to postpone this task until later.
And already at the last moment, when there is no time left, quickly complete the planned. Or, some difficulties will simply begin to arise that will delay obtaining the desired result.
Subconsciously, a person understands that, having coped with one thing, he will not just be inactive, it will be necessary to proceed to the next. Then on to the next one, and so on ad infinitum.
There is also an illusory feeling that there is enough time and at any moment you can do this important business. It’s just that there are more urgent matters that require attention at this time.
The impact of Parkinson’s idea is most pronounced in fixed-wage employees. They simply do not need to «jump out of their pants», performing the assigned tasks immediately after the occurrence. Because the volume of work will gradually increase, bringing absolutely no benefit, but only exhausting and causing stress.
In general, if the task takes only two hours of work, complete it in two, you should not give yourself “indulgences” and spare minutes, hours and days in case of force majeure situations.
Because most often we create a kind of “buffer” of time due to the fact that we don’t understand how many resources a business actually requires. Why do we assign much more than necessary. Try to assess the situation more rationally and you will be surprised how quickly you will begin to cope with your duties.
A person’s expenses increase with the growth of his income.
Think back to when you got a pay raise, how did you do it? Did you start spending money, or did you put aside the “excess” for unforeseen circumstances, continuing to lead the same way of life?
Most people prefer the first option. Yes, and an increase in expenses is inevitable due to the increase in taxes along with income.
Any life development leads to complication, which, in turn, to decomposition
Cyril was of the opinion that a person must strive to rise above these provisions, in particular about development. Otherwise, he is threatened with degradation, stop, or such a level of stress and amount of work that he will no longer be able to cope with.
As an example, it is worth simply remembering all the great civilizations that existed before. They simply disappeared.
That is, the further we advance, the more difficult it is for us then. Let’s say you decide to start a business. We organized it ourselves, paying taxes for only one person, doing accounting, purchasing and sales at the same time.
But gradually achieved such success and popularity among customers that it became quite a logical question to expand. Having hired staff, new difficulties and troubles arose.
For example, registration of social packages, vacations, payment of salaries, sick leave. Expenses for taxes have increased and purchases have become more voluminous, which also complicates everything.
And not everyone is able to solve a lot of issues at the same time and lead such an active lifestyle, if they are used to living measuredly and calmly. Therefore, the chores grow in proportion to the increase in income.
Development, no matter in what area, gradually leads to perfection, after which, roughly speaking, the final. Therefore, they usually say that you should never stop there. And when completing one project, it is important to already sketch out options for the next, more complex one, so as not to “fall out” completely from the process.
Lesser known, but no less significant laws of Cyril
If you want to learn more about them, I recommend reading the books Parkinson’s Law or Mrs. Parkinson’s Law, In-Laws and Strangers.
Here is a brief summary of each of them.
So there is a law:
- Thousands. This means that any organization with a thousand or more employees automatically becomes independent and does not need to interact with the outside world.
- delays. In Cyril’s opinion, delaying or postponing a response is the most effective form of denial. When a person delays with the fulfillment of this promise, they stop relying on him and automatically, unofficially, obligations are removed. Since they cannot rely on him and come to the conclusion that a refusal has been received.
- Phone. The effectiveness of a telephone conversation is directly proportional to the amount of time spent on it. Most likely, because, having resolved the main issues and not saying goodbye, empty chatter begins. People are literally «marking time» on the spot, discussing the same thing.
- scientific research. Each successful study leads to the need to increase financial costs, which sometimes causes a complete cessation of work.
- Information. Quite relevant in the field of computer technology. An increase in the amount of data leads to the fact that the media itself runs out of free space. As a result, it is necessary to invent more advanced devices that can store a large amount of information than the previous ones. And consumers need to buy them, abandoning the «ancient» models.
By the way, the wife of Cyril also brought out, so to speak, the formula for a happy life. According to her notes, the warmth and tenderness that arose during household chores can become more intense, gradually not only filling, but also overflowing the person experiencing them.
Therefore, it is important to share such valuable feelings so that there is space for new ones. Only the transfer of positive emotions is possible to a more, so to speak, cold-blooded person.
Recommendations
Finance
- Be sure to control your expenses. Otherwise, even an increase in profits will not help you feel freedom and financial independence. It is clear that when you start getting more, you want to buy better goods. But more often than not, money is wasted. For example, twenty-fifth jeans, just because «I can afford it.» Therefore, make it a habit to set aside capital for a more expensive, but important purchase, a dream. In terms of, if you dream of a car, with an increase in salary, increase the amount of savings for it.
- Avoid credit and debt. Increasing income creates an illusion of stability. That for certain it will be possible to cope with the credit with such remuneration. But in fact, you fall into a debt hole.
- Regardless of the amount of money and success, be sure to organize yourself a passive income. That is, one that requires a minimum investment, but at the same time consistently brings some dividends. For example, it can be renting out housing, investing in a promising company, an idea, and so on.
- Do your home bookkeeping. This will make it easier to keep track of expenses, especially unforeseen and sometimes completely unnecessary.
- Avoid the temptation of satisfying momentary desires. Weigh the pros and cons and only then proceed with the implementation of the planned. Because otherwise you run the risk of wasting money on those services, things, and so on, which are completely unnecessary and which are, for example, a successful attempt to manipulate the minds of consumers. When the media form the wrong values in society. For example, that the main sign of a rich person is that he has an expensive car, telephone and apartment. Why do most people acquire movable and immovable property on credit for the sake of illusory status and recognition. Denying yourself the rest of the benefits, starting with vacations and quality rest. The one who has no debts and who is able to create capital is rich. At least, being “at zero”, and not “in the red”.
Time
- Give up the idea that you need to work harder to achieve the desired results. Your priority should be the result, so the most appropriate motivation would be a focus on quality. That is, work better, not harder. Then in a short period of time you will be able to achieve what, out of habit, you would spend much more effort and other resources on.
- Write a to-do list and put next to each time, which, according to your feelings and previous experience, is enough for their implementation. Now your task will be to organize the deadline. Cut your time in half by banishing ideas of unreality. Imagine that these deadlines have been set for you and you cannot influence the decision in any way. As non-fulfillment threatens to reduce the time for the next case. And on a significant «piece».
- In order not to be so cruel to yourself, come up with the most suitable motivation. For example, a large amount of energy gives excitement. Test your strength, what are you capable of? Can you manage or not?
- I would like to recommend the Pomodoro method. It is an indispensable way to save time in time management. You only need to buy a timer in the form of a tomato and follow the algorithm for working with it.
- Fight the productivity parasites. This refers to correspondence on social networks, scrolling through the news feed, watching TV, and so on. Such activities take away from us most of the energy that could be spent on the implementation of our plans.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Set challenging but realistic goals. And strive to fulfill what is planned for the minimum period of time, and with high quality, and not “slipshod” — then success will be guaranteed to you.
Also, we recommend that you read an article about the “harm of motivation”, according to the Yerkes-Dodson law.
Take care of yourself and be happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina