My Jiminy Cricket and the power of Parkinson’s Law. Your work will expand the time you give it, so choose time duration carefully

I believe one of the most important things to remember when it comes to the topic of time management in business is Parkinson's Law: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." It's my Jiminy Cricket when it comes to productivity. 

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about: 

If I were to ask you the question, "How long does it take to clean your room?" What would you say? A half-hour? One hour? Two hours? The whole day (you know who you are haha)?

What if I told you you only had five minutes to clean your entire room? 

Would you be able to get it done in a shorter timeline? 

If I were to tell you at 9 AM on Monday morning that I'd like you to have the company Quickbooks account reconciled by 6 PM the same day, what time do you think you would finish reconciling the books?

What if I told you that you only had two hours to reconcile? 

Would you be able to get it done in a shorter timeline? 

Do this the next time you think about a project you'd like to get accomplished by the day's end. Think about how much time you think you'll need to get the project done right. Now. Cut that time in half. Can you still get the project done right? Now. Cut that time in half again. Can you still get the project done right? What would Jiminy say? 

You'll often find that if you think a project will take four hours... it will end up taking four hours. If you think a project will take one hour... it will end up taking one hour. If you think a project will take five days... it will end up taking five days. No matter how big or small the task, if you set a time limit around a project, the task will often times occupy the space allotted. 

So the next time you think about managing your time, and the next time you're looking to be "more efficient" or "move faster" or "be more productive"... just remember my Jiminy. Remember Parkinson's Law. It's the only "time management" lesson you'll ever need to know.