Entrepreneurs Are You Tired of Working So Hard? Try Parkinson’s Law

For years I thought I needed to work from 8:00 – 5:00 Monday through Friday week in and week out. I guess that old mindset came from my corporate job where I worked 40 hours (really more) every week. Then one day I thought to myself, didn’t I leave my job to become an entrepreneur so I can have a life, versus working in a corporate prison?

I realized that I could define when I was going to work. I established parameters around what would work for me and then I educated my clients on how I work. Today, I don’t work with clients 40 hours a week. In fact, I take the last week of every month off to work on creative projects for my business, like designing new content and programs. I also make sure my vacations, family time, and “me” time, is always booked out on my calendar a year in advance.

That may sound great, but when you’re a business owner taking control of your schedule is easier said than done. That’s where Parkinson’s Law might help you change the way you think about time. According to the famous British historian, Cyril Northcote Parkinson, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” The reverse can also be true, work contracts to fit within the time available for its completion.

So let’s say you give yourself two days to write a corporate proposal, then that’s how long it will take you to finish it. If you give yourself a week, it will take longer, if you give yourself 4 hours you’ll get it done faster. Projects expand or contract depending on the parameters we put in place.

This law is of particular importance to entrepreneurs because you are in charge of how many hours a week you work. If you’re exhausted, if you’re working more than you want to, if you can’t remember the last time you took a real vacation from work, then it’s time to use Parkinson’s Law to help you regain control over your schedule.

Let’s consider some practical ways to manage your time, instead of letting time manage you.

1. Decide how many hours a day, week, and month you want to work. This is not what you think you “should” work but how much time you “want” to work. You may not get there immediately but it will give you a goal to work towards.
2. Determine your priorities and then give yourself deadlines. If it’s a priority it should be on your calendar with a firm deadline in place. If not, it’s just a “someday” project, which doesn’t warrant your time and energy at this moment.
3. Figure out when you have the most energy during your day and week. We need high levels of energy when working with our clients, speaking on behalf of our business, or having a discovery call with a new lead. If you’re burnt out you don’t fully show up and it shows. So work out your schedule accordingly. If you’re energetic in the morning that’s when you should focus on important tasks. If you start the week off strong but start to lag, then make Friday the day you work on mundane tasks that don’t require creative energy.
4. Identify and eliminate time-zappers. You may be able to work a lot fewer hours if you’re not distracted by checking emails, shopping online, catching up on social media, or all the other little timewasters that sneak into our days. Impose some limits. For example, give yourself 10 minutes twice a day to check emails, instead of letting that devour huge portions of your day.
5. Remember that less is often more. I often see consultants and coaches overloading themselves and their clients with unnecessary work. You want to give your client value, but that doesn’t mean sharing every tip, tool or strategy you have. Instead, focus on providing the easiest way possible to help them overcome their challenge. Trust me, clients appreciate it when you value their time!

Sometimes we get a false sense of productivity when we’re working really hard. Instead of working so hard, try working smart.

Here’s an easy way to put the Parkinson’s Law to work in your life. Try your ideal schedule out for two weeks. So for example, let’s say you normally work 50 hours a week but you’d rather work 40. For two weeks give yourself 40 hours to get the same amount of work done as usual. You might be surprised by what you accomplish when you give yourself less time! I’d love to hear what you learn from this experiment. Please email me your results at [email protected]

If you could use an objective perspective on how to be more strategic about your business, please contact me at 1-800-267-3245 for a complimentary strategy session to see how we may be of service to you.