87. Why Work Expands to Fill Your Time (And How to Stop It!)

Ever notice that a task takes exactly as long as the amount of time you allow for it? That’s Parkinson’s Law in action! In today’s episode, I'm diving into this powerful time management principle and how it affects busy speech-language pathologists.

If you’ve ever spent way too much time on documentation, session prep, or admin tasks—this episode is for you. I’ll break down what Parkinson’s Law is, why it happens, and most importantly, how to use it to your advantage to get your work done more efficiently—without sacrificing quality.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

✅ What Parkinson’s Law is and why it matters for SLPs
✅ How documentation, email, and session planning expand to take up more time than necessary
✅ The hidden ways this law causes stress, overwork, and burnout
✅ The first step you can take to overcome Parkinson's Law at work and at home

Resources & Next Steps:

🎙️ Join me for a live discussion in the SLP Support Group this Wednesday! I’ll be doing a deeper dive on Parkinson’s Law and what you can do about it.
📆 Book a coaching session if you’re ready to streamline your workload and take control of your time.

To find out how I can help you improve your work-life balance, click here.

Come join the SLP Support Group on Facebook for more tips and tricks!

Follow me on Instagram! @theresamharp

Learn more about Theresa Harp Coaching here.

Transcript

Speaker: [00:00:00] Welcome to Work-Life Balance for Speech Pathologists. I'm Theresa Harp, an SLP and productivity coach, and this podcast is all about how to build a successful career as an SLP and still have time for yourself and the people and things you love. So if you're ready to ditch stress and burnout for a more balanced and fulfilling life, then you are in the right place. Let's dive in.

Hello podcast listeners, and welcome to the show. I am already laughing at myself for this episode because it is all about a topic that I am literally living through right now, which is the, the concept or the, the topic of something called Parkinson's Law and I'm going to talk about what that is in a little bit and why it matters and all of that, but it's so funny to me because I am, full transparency, recording this episode the day before, the night before it's going to be [00:01:00] released and that fits in very much to this topic of Parkinson's Law.

So before we go into that, let me just start out by giving you a little brief intro or overview of what Parkinson's Law even means, what it is, what I'm talking about, and then I'll share my story and give you some information about where this is probably showing up for you as well. Although, honestly, you'll probably be Be well aware of the places this is showing up as you are listening to me describe this.

Okay, so for those of you who don't know, Parkinson's law is the idea that work expands or grows to fill the available time. So in other words, if you have three hours to get a report done, it will take you three hours to get a report done, or you will take up until the end of that three hour. time frame to get it done.[00:02:00] 

This is a concept that I. Like, I see this showing up in my personal life and in my professional life, but personally, I mean, I have had so much experience with this and it was not until I learned what, that this had a name, that it was called Parkinson's Law, what it was, and that it was a thing and that, that explained so much of what I was doing.

And now I do it far less and I've certainly made big strides, but this episode, as I said, is being recorded the night before it's being released. So this is the perfect topic for me to be talking about because I am waiting. until the last minute to get it done. Now, Parkinson's law is, in my opinion, there's some overlap or some, maybe some similarities between Parkinson's law and procrastination, and that is a topic for another day.

But they [00:03:00] are, to be clear, they are two different Concepts, two different ideas, Parkinson's Law and procrastination. Now, was procrastination involved in this instance for me, where I'm writing or recording the episode right before it needs to be published? Yes. Procrastination was definitely part of it.

But also, there was a lot of Parkinson's Law happening for me, okay? So, again, the idea that work expands to fill the amount of time that you have available to get that work done, okay? So, with that in mind, now that we We are all on the same page in terms of what it means. Let's talk about why it's happening, okay?

Why does this happen? And I think there's a number of reasons why this occurs, but some of the most, I would say the most frequent reasons or the most common reasons are [00:04:00] this sort of flawed sense of time where We think we have, you know, when we think about a deadline, we don't necessarily consider, um, critically how much time is available between now and that deadline and what we, we are doing in that time.

What's already, what else is going on during that time? So that we kind of have an idea of not just the amount available. you know, if you looked at the clock, but the amount of time available also in within your own schedule, within your own day to day routines and parameters, right? So I think that is certainly part of it.

We're not thinking, we're not forecasting on a macro and a micro level. And so that might lead us to miss Calculate, if you will, it might not be the best [00:05:00] word, but to miscalculate the amount of time that we have or, you know, how long we can put this off for. Okay. So I think that's one way that this shows up and that would be particularly true, by the way, for people who have ADHD or for those of you who are listening, who you suspect you have ADHD or other neurodivergent.

Um, conditions where that is true, I think what I just described is true for everybody, but for those of us who have ADHD, that could be true way, way more often, way more often. It's happening much more frequently. Okay. And we're really struggling with that piece of time, time estimation, time awareness, all of that.

Okay. So I think that's one reason why this happens. I also think A reason why this happens, another reason why this happens is what I mentioned earlier with procrastination and how, you know, I said that those are closely related. They're certainly overlap, but they're not the [00:06:00] same. And I think that procrastination is actually one of the reasons.

That Parkinson's law exists because we put things off. We're procrastinating the tasks, so we put it off, we put it off, and then next thing you know, we're up against the deadline. And so you have to get that done by the time that, you know, by the, before that deadline arrives. Hopefully, right? For most of us, it doesn't always work out that way.

But, then, In theory, and just sort of by conceptually in a case like that, you have used all of the available time to get that thing done. You weren't working on that thing during all of the available time, but in a sense it was on your mental to do list and it was on your written to do list, perhaps. And so it did take up that amount of time.

Even though you weren't working on it for that entire duration. Does that make sense? And that is that is really where I [00:07:00] am Relating right now with the podcast episode tonight because for me I know that I will get a podcast episode episode out no matter what like that is a that is a belief of mine That is a decision I have made and that's what I stick to, right?

And so I can often put off recording a podcast episode during the week because there are other things that I need to do and I trust my ability to get the podcast episode done even if it's the last minute. That level of trust for me is way higher than my self trust to complete the things that, you know, I really don't want to do and, but need to do.

I would just put those off and if given the, if given, you know, free will, I guess I do have free will, but you know what I mean, I would prefer to just put those things off and record the podcast episode, but I don't because I know, okay, [00:08:00] podcast episode is going to happen. These things might not happen, but they need to happen.

So let me get them done. And so then sometimes that works out fine and it's not an issue. And then other times it's sort of, I don't know, backfires might not be the, The best word is a little strong, but it, sometimes it leads to a situation like this, where I'm scrambling last minute. Now, was this podcast, uh, episode outlined and planned out ahead of time?

Actually, yes, which is why this is so ironic, um, that this, the timing wise that this happened. But, you know, this is not uncommon for me every once in a while. This will happen on a, on a, I guess, what is it, Monday night. So. I believe, though, that in a case like this where I have chosen to sort of, oh yeah, I'll get to it, I'll get to it, I'll get to it, in this, in a sense, the task then, the task being the podcast episode, has expanded to fill the amount of time that was available.

Whereas had I done this a week or two [00:09:00] ago, and just, you know, spent an hour or so, gotten it recorded, gotten it done, it would have been, you know, a small little checkbox for me that I would then no longer be thinking about for the, you know, the remainder of the time. So anyway, that is, again, procrastination and how that sort of influences the, the idea of Parkinson's Law or how it relates to Parkinson's Law.

And then the third thing that I, the third reason why I believe Parkinson's Law is is so prevalent or why it, why this happens is because of perfectionistic tendencies or just quite frankly, you know, perfectionism where we think or want. something to be. We think it needs to be or we want it to be perfect.

And so if we're thinking, okay, I've got three hours to get [00:10:00] this report done and I know I could probably write a report, like a decent report in say an hour and a half or two hours. Since I have this full three hours I might as well sit down and just like get it done and make it, you know take my time and make it really, make it really great.

Make it really strong. Make it whatever. Okay? So it Transcribed by https: otter. ai It sort of can show that perfectionism can sort of show up like that where it's a little bit sneaky because then you're, you're sort of spending your time trying to make this report a certain way, but if you don't know what that way is in your mind, if it's not very clear, you're not very specific about what your expectations are for that report, you're just going to keep working at it without any clear progress.

You'll never know if you hit that You know, perfect line, air quotes, which, by the way, does not exist, but you get the idea, right? So I think perfectionism can come into play here in that regard and also [00:11:00] If we have this tendency or if we have this desire to make the report just in general make it the best that it could be Whether we have as much time as we need or not So then it also that task will also expand because we're now spending more time on it trying to get it to be quote unquote perfect and then in That process wind up using all of the available time.

All right. And so I've given you some examples of, you know, how this indirectly, I've given you some examples of how this might show up for you. So, you know, I mentioned report writing to me, this is the. biggest one that I see with the clients that I coach with the colleagues that I've worked with with the students who I teach with my own personal or my own professional experience is absolutely documentation.

I especially see this for people who have ADHD. That's like, you know, [00:12:00] double, um, it's double the impact. I mean, in my mind, I'm, I'm I'm being a little bit facetious, but you get what I mean, right? So it is an even bigger challenge, in my opinion, for people who are neurodivergent. But this is showing up in, for everybody in different places, I think for almost all of us in documentation.

It might also show up in things that we enjoy. Which is interesting to think about because, you know, for example, um, session planning, or if you're like prepping for a session or planning out activities, or maybe you're very into, um, continuing ed and you're, you know, very interested in researching certain areas, or you're trying to build a skill.

Or maybe you're really interested in, um, presentations and giving presentations. And so you might be crafting outlines of presentations. And so it could show up in things that we love where we're now like, okay, well, I have all this time, I'm going to make it the best I can. And it's fine if it's something [00:13:00] that you're enjoying and that you're intentionally and willingly deciding to invest the time in that.

But it's a totally different story when you feel like you either, if. It's a totally different story if you are totally unaware of it, which sometimes happens, or if you're sort of doing it knowingly and putting this pressure on yourself and it becomes this sort of uncomfortable, anxious, or anxiety inducing experience.

And then you are no longer in control in those moments, at least you're not taking control over the situation and over your time. And then it really does backfire. We really pay the price. So, just keep that in mind. I also think that this will show up for things like, I'm trying to think of, um, for those of you who own a private practice or for those of you that, you know, have a lot of administrative tasks in your role.

Maybe you're not the owner, but you have a lot of administrative tasks. I think it can show up in ways, in things like that as well. [00:14:00] Parkinson's Law will, will be a common, um, is a common challenge for those of us who are working on stuff like admin tasks. I also think that with all of these places in mind where it is showing up, it is no wonder that SLPs are burning out, are overwhelmed, are stressed at work, were, you know, just In a, we seem to be culturally as a field in a state right now, we, where we are, many of us are struggling in terms of workload, in terms of work life balance.

So, with all of that in mind, right, we've talked about what Parkinson's Law is, we've talked about my own experience where, you know, I've, I have lots of examples where this has shown up for me. But I gave you the example of this podcast episode, Case in Point, you know, life imitating art, so to speak. So we talked about that and then we talked about some of the reasons why this is showing up, [00:15:00] like flawed perception of time, uh, procrastination, perfectionism, et cetera, right?

And I gave you some examples of places or you know, tasks in your role as an SLP where this might be happening. So what I want you to do this week is to really start to pay attention to where this might be showing up for you, both in your personal and professional life. And then for my overachievers, my challenge to you, if you choose to accept it, is to find one task.

Just one thing today. Okay? Think about your day today, whatever you are doing. As you are doing it, think about one task. Pick one task that you are going to do in less time than you usually give yourself. So if you usually give yourself 10 minutes to get the dishes done, and it's [00:16:00] leisurely and you notice that you're putting things on.

Leisurely. Washing dishes is never leisurely. I don't know what I'm talking about. But you know what I mean. If you find yourself sort of lollygagging during certain routines, and they are taking longer than you want them to, You can do something about it. So, find one task today, whether it's at home or at work, that you can do in less time.

In less time than you usually give yourself, without overly stressing, rushing, hurrying, anything like that. That is not the goal, by the way, okay? Just being more mindful of the time that you are spending and whether or not your task is expanding to fill the amount of time available. That is where we are starting.

That's what we're talking about. Okay. And if you are not in the SLP support group, make sure you pop into the SLP support group on Facebook. That is where we will be chatting about this topic, Parkinson's Law, uh, over the [00:17:00] course of this week. But I actually have about nine other Bond Guest episodes that I've outlined about this topic that I, I haven't decided yet how I'm going to release them and record them.

If I'm going to do, you know, 10 in a row, probably not. But there's so many other things I have to say about this idea and I'm just not done. So there will definitely be more episodes to come. I can tell you, oh, there's my timer. By the way, I forgot to mention this at the start of the episode. I set an audible timer when I started recording because I wanted to only give myself 15 minutes to get this recording done.

And I, so I made sure that I kept the sound on because I wanted to really practice taking control and practice doing exactly what I am challenging you to do this week, which is to do a task in less time than you would normally do it. [00:18:00] So anyway, as I was saying, next week's episode. I'm going to be talking a little bit more about this topic, but more specifically, I'm going to tell you about my journey with it and why, when it does happen to me, like tonight where I have put something off and I am doing something last minute, why that's no longer a problem, like what is different now for me than let's say a year or two ago, two years ago, three years ago, What is different?

Because there's absolutely, it's a totally different experience for me now than it was then. And that's something that I want to share with all of you so that you have a better idea of what is possible. All right, that's it for today's episode. I did go a little over my 15 time, my 15 minute time limit, but hopefully this was useful for you and I will talk with y'all next week.

[00:19:00] Bye.