Parkinson’s Law says that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.
When you don’t set fixed windows for managing low-value tasks like checking just for a second your Instagram, Tick Tok, Facebook, that one YouTube video that a friend sent or whatever your social media vice) you end up “grazing” on them which results in spending all day doing them slowly and inefficiently. You start on that important task and then go right back grazing telling yourself that once you check that thing out you’ll get back to the real task.
Then before you know it, the End of the day comes and guess what, you didn’t get done the real work that needed to get done.
That leads to having to work late, rushing to get it done which isn’t your best work or worse yet, the real work doesn’t get done at all that day.
It’s an easy trap to fall into because a lot of the grazing you do is because you’re avoiding, better known as procrastinating, doing some harder task that’s on your list for the day.
Don’t graze. Create short, discrete windows for processing low importance tasks.
Set a timer on your phone.
Use an hourglass on your desk.
Whatever the method, use something that puts edges around your time that you’re going to do low value tasks.
Your move.
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