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Parkinson’s law

💼 Business By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Parkinson’s law is the observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
Contents
  1. 1. Parkinson’s law
  2. 2. Frequently asked questions
  3. 3. References

Parkinson’s law

In a satirical 1955 *Economist* essay, C. Northcote Parkinson wrote that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” He also mocked how bureaucracies grow regardless of workload. Ariely and Wertenbroch (2002) found evenly spaced external deadlines improved performance over self-set ones. Practical uses include timeboxing, interim deadlines and shorter meetings.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a scientific law?
No; it is a satirical empirical observation.
Is it related to Parkinson’s disease?
No.

References

  1. Parkinson, C. N. (1955, November 19). Parkinson’s law. The Economist.
  2. Parkinson, C. N. (1957). Parkinson’s law, and other studies in administration. Houghton Mifflin.
  3. Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219–224.

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This article was last updated on October 24, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.