Rohit Nautiyal's Key Ideas from Parkinson's Law Or the Pursuit of Progress
by Cyril Northcote Parkinson

If you a have task of writing a letter and complete it by this week, you will most probably spend one day to to get best pen, then one day for the best paper, then one day for finding out best vocabulary, then one day to review and rewriting it.

Or if you have only 5 minutes for it, you will just find a piece of paper, a working pen and you start writing the main purpose on the letter. That's it.

It's not laziness or tendency of deferring things for later. It is just being busy in unnecessary or unproductive activites.

This law applies to everyone whether person or institution.

So to avoid this, assign the timeline or deadline, whatever you call it, for an early date, say tomorrow instead of this week, or one hour instead of day end, or one week instead of one year.

Hint:

If task cannot be practically done in early timelines, atleast a blueprint should be ready by that time.

Too much time = Waste of time

Less time = Effectve use of time