Do you ever struggle with leaving the office on time because you have too much to do?
Parkinson’s law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for it. It’s common for managers to push a task or project off, thinking we will have time later to complete it. We add hours to the end of our day or work on weekends to attempt to “catch up”.
The challenge is, we will never be caught up. Our job as leaders is to focus on the most important key result areas for our position.
One of the top mistakes I see leaders make that sabotages their success is not managing their energy and focus effectively. Many leaders are working long hours at the expense of their health and personal time. This is not sustainable, and not effective.
There is one specific principle I use in my own life to combat Parkinson’s Law: compressed time.
Instead of adding time to my day, I put boundaries in place to keep myself focused. For example, I have a hard stop to my day and rarely will work beyond that time.
This sounds counterintuitive, because we naturally think that the only way to get more done is to add more time. But I find the opposite is true. When we add more time, we aren’t efficient with that time, and the cycle continues. Having a hard stop to your day forces you to focus and be efficient with your time. Adding hours to your day only increases stress and burnout, and reduces efficiency and accuracy.
There certainly are times when we may need to work extra hours, but that shouldn’t be the norm. For example, if you are in a core conversion of one of your organizational systems, this big project may temporarily require additional work.
Generally, adding an hour or more to your day is not a great way to manage your time because your brain knows you have more time to complete the task, so you tend to work on low value tasks and put off important projects.
Let's say 5:30 is your hard stop for work today. Knowing this, you’re telling your brain that you need to be super productive throughout the day because you're leaving at 5:30. You remind yourself you need to be more disciplined and intentional with your time because there is no “extra time”.
You may need to learn some habits to help you be more intentional with your time, but knowing there is a hard stop will help you focus.
A few months ago, I held a virtual masterclass. I knew it was from 1:00 until about 3:00, and that I didn't take a walk the day before because I was traveling. I hadn't walked as much that week as I like to due to the travel schedule. I said to myself, “I am walking today. I'm leaving the office at four o'clock no matter what”.
I worked diligently several hours prior to the masterclass, led the masterclass, and then at 4:00 I left my office to take the walk.
What a lot of leaders would do is they would get to that time boundary and say, “Oh, I just have too much work to do, I'm not going to walk. Instead, I'm just going to catch up on work.” Then they’d probably work even beyond their normal hours.
What I did that morning was set up the time boundary by telling myself I was absolutely leaving at 4:00. That forced me to use the hours I had in the morning very intentionally. I got down to business, picked one thing that I was going to focus on (preparing for a speaking engagement), and completed the work.
I focused for an hour and a half and got two priorities completed, which felt great. I was then able to facilitate the masterclass calmly and effectively with the other work out of my mind.
If I had not had a hard stop at the end of my day, what I probably would have done is wasted away those morning hours.
Most of us tend to fracture our time throughout the day - we jump between tasks, focus on small things, and put off important projects. We allow interruptions to take us off task, and constantly check our email. Before you know it, that time slips away.
If you're working more hours than you think is reasonable, ask yourself if you’re just adding extra time when what would be more helpful is compressing time.
Work fills up the time we allot it. When you compress time with hard stops, you become much more intentional about the time available.
Here is how you can start practicing compressed time:
- Set a hard stop to your day and commit to leaving the office at that time.
- Schedule specific times in your calendar for one task, project, or commitment. For example, block one hour on your calendar for a project and only focus on that project for that hour (don’t multitask!). This will ensure you are managing your focus and energy for the best results.
- Only check your email at specific times you have allocated, and only a few times a day.
- If you currently work until seven o'clock at night and you’d prefer to leave at 5:30, this week, reduce your work time by a half hour and leave at 6:30. Reduce by another half hour the following week and continue this until you reach your ideal time.
Again, there will be occasional times where we may need to put in extra hours. But busyness is not a sign of success. When I work with leaders who are working very long hours, that is usually a sign that they are not managing their focus and energy well.
Leaders need to focus on our own personal well-being and the well-being of our staff members and culture. Part of that comes from how intentional we are with our time.
If you implement compressed time, you will see great results in your productivity, focus and personal well-being.
Watch or lisen to this post here
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I really love and enjoy this reading. Reading this I learned that when you speak out clearly you thoughts and ideas people see you as winner, because you are not afraid to go straight to the point.
Great article.....And happy belated birthday! Welcome to my world, young lady!
Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!