Is Procrastination The Secret To Productivity?

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July 5th, 2022

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Is procrastination harmful?

Procrastination is the act of waiting until “the last minute” to get a task finished. Whether itʼs waiting until the night before to cram study for an exam, spending an entire day working on a project you knew about for weeks, or even waiting until the very last moment before getting ready to go on a date or see a friend.

Those who procrastinate regularly are often left stressed, scrambling, and scattered, attempting to get their work done before the timer hits 0. 

But despite the anxiety that comes with severe procrastination, most people are able to finish everything they need to in a much shorter time frame. Why is that?

Parkinsonʼs law of work

Parkinsonʼs Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, if youʼre given 1 week to read a book, youʼll take 1 week to read it.

If youʼre given 1 month to read the same book, youʼll procrastinate. Youʼll read a few pages at a time. Youʼll set it aside more often. But if youʼre given only 3 hours to read the entire book, youʼll finish it in 3 hours. All of your time and energy will go towards finishing your reading task.

This is perhaps the most powerful productivity hack to implement into your daily life.

How to take advantage of parkinsonʼs law

So now that you understand how Parkinsonʼs law works, how can you use it to become more productive? The secret is to set specific, time limited deadlines for your important tasks. By setting these deadlines and sticking to them, you automatically apply Parkinsonʼs law to your workflow. Itʼs why CEOs set ridiculous deadlines. If you think you need 2 weeks to finish a task but are only given a day to do so, you will be surprised how productive you can be in that reduced time frame. So, next time you have a specific list of work to complete, give yourself a limited amount of time to do so. Allow yourself only an hour for each task, and discover how productive you can truly be.

Taking advantage of parkinsonʼs law through procrastination

As backwards as it sounds, you can plan to procrastinate. If you know that a short deadline is the only way you will be truly productive, plan out your work based on your availability. That project you have a month to complete? Commit to starting it the week before itʼs due. That book you need to read for class? Give yourself 3 days to finish it. The added time pressure will likely lead you to being more effective with your time, and will help you manage your tasks based on priority, available time, and your level of commitment.

The fine print

One very, VERY important element to note, is that despite Parkinsonʼs Law showing that less time can lead to more productivity, itʼs vital to be reasonable with your personal deadlines. If it normally takes you an hour to read 100 pages, donʼt expect to finish a 300 page book, retain the information, and take adequate notes in 2 hours. Give yourself enough time to feel the pressure, but not so little that you end up destroying your quality of work and ability to be a successful and efficient individual.

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