Parkinson's Law

ebook

By IntroBooks

cover image of Parkinson's Law

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The classic saying that labor expands to fill up the time given for completion is known as Parkinson's Law. In a hilarious column for "The Economist" in 1955, Cyril Northcote Parkinson coined the term. He stresses the case of a woman whose exclusive duty for a day is to mail a postcard, an activity that would take a busy person around three minutes to complete. However, the woman takes an hour hunting for the card, an additional half-hour searching for her glasses, 90 minutes composing the content, and 20 minutes contemplating whether or not to travel to the nearby mailbox with an umbrella. The dilemma continues till her day is entirely covered.

Parkinson's Law