The last two weeks, I’ve been on a predictable, steady work schedule. For the first time in a long time, I’ve had about five solid hours to work each day, more than I’ve ever had. You’d think my productivity would have shot up. Strangely, it didn’t. In fact, it stayed about the same… maybe even dipped a little.
That got me thinking about Parkinson’s Law. It’s the idea that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. If you give yourself three days to complete a three-hour project, you’ll likely stretch it out to three days. But if you only have three hours to finish something that “should” take three days, somehow, you’ll get it done in three hours . It’s less about how long something actually takes and more about how our minds adapt to the constraints we’re given.
When I had just one or two hours each day, I attacked my priorities with a kind of laser focus. Every minute counted. Now, with more time, I sometimes notice myself moving slower, taking longer to make decisions, or tinkering with details that don’t really matter.
So what’s the lesson here? Honestly, that the struggle is just part of it. I thought five hours a day would solve all my problems, but instead I’ve found myself working at a snail’s pace, checking my social accounts a little too frequently, and doing a whole lot of texting. The other lesson? To give myself a little grace. It’s unrealistic to expect myself to operate in ultra-productive mode all the time. Especially when my “second shift” begins the moment those five hours are up and I transition to full-time parenting. In the end, I have to laugh at it all. Because sometimes, the work and the life, just expands to fill the space we give it.
With love,
Maria