Avoiding the Parkinson Laws

Posted by scotty on November 2nd, 2009 in Articles      No comments

Nov
2

C. Northgate Parkinson lived from 1909-1993, was a famous British economist and was also known for many other accomplishments. Here are three laws he identified that relate to our world today.

Law 1 – Work expands to meet the time envelope allowed. This law is certainly true. Usually a person’s most productive week of the year is the week right before a vacation!

Law 2 – A luxury once enjoyed becomes a necessity. Think about it. Can you imagine living without the internet or a cell phone? Well, it wasn’t that many years ago that these were non-existent or considered a luxury you would not spend money on.

Law 3 – Expenses rise to equal income. Okay, who hasn’t experienced this in their life? Many of us will have a future raise already earmarked for spending.

So you may be asking yourself, “What can be done to overcome the Parkinson Laws?” Here are a few suggestions.

Law 1 – Get in a “do it now” mindset. Eliminate procrastination in your life; it is the number one reason why people are not very productive.

Law 2 – You do not have to look very far to see that following this law is a major contributing factor to the state of our economy. Ask yourself, “Do I have to have this? Is it a want or a need?”

Law 3 – Make a commitment to start aggressively paying off a debt and increase your savings until you become your own bank. (Borrow from yourself). So any future raises already have a plan in place, not to spend it on improving your lifestyle, but rather breaking the chains of bondage.

Join me in avoiding the Parkinson Laws!