Parkinson’s Law
No this isn’t about the disease!
“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
Cyril Parkinson quoted this Law in a humorous way in his article, “The Economist” in 1955. He talked about a Lady who had the aim of sending one postcard every day. The job could be done in 5 minutes but instead she spent multiple hours of the day collecting the perfect postcard, writing the content etc.
The Law states that even if a task can be done is less time, the brain works such that it takes the entire deadline time.
How to break free-
- Break tasks into smaller chunks
- Prioritize important tasks
- Time blocking
More ways to stop procrastinating
Parkinson’s Law acts as a reminder of time management and staying mindful of how tasks expand to fill the time available, urging us to prioritize effectively and be intentional with our time.
Pareto’s Principle
“80% of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of 20% of the population”
Famously known as the 80/20 rule, This Law was devised by an Italian Economist, Vilfredo Pareto.
Even though this law was originally for the economic state of a region, This law can be applied in all aspects of our life from productivity to goal setting.
If one is able to divide a task in numerous smaller tasks and is able to identify the correct parts, they should rather give 80% of their focus on those parts.
Pareto’s principle is essentially about Efficiency and embracing the mindset of doing less but doing it better!
Law of Compound Interest
“Consistent, small efforts or actions, when repeated over time, lead to significant and exponential results.”
This law stated by Richard Witt in 1613. This Law is of so important that is often stated as the — “8th Wonder of the World”
This law is simple but the world has made it quite difficult. It is as simple as saying, ”The more you consistently add in, the more you get in return”. But how exactly do you do that? The most important ingredient of this Law is Time, Warren Buffet, allegedly the greatest investor of all time, used this and now he is a Multi-Billionaire. Buffet averaged around 10–12% of ROI for over 6 Decades now! Even if Buffet invested only $100 a month for the whole journey, Today his portfolio would be over $5.2Million and that’s not even it! If he continues for 5 more years, It ramps up to $16Million.
Whats funny is Buffet didn’t have the greatest ROI Portfolio, Hedgefund managers get around 40%! Now even if a hedge fund manager is able to invest the same amount but only for 10 years, he gets only $300k.
This Law is used by all of us whether it be financially or for self development, This Law teaches us that It isn’t about doing your 100% at the last week of your papers but giving 5% every day of the semester.
First Law of Motion
“An object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force.”
I believe that everyone knows this Law of Inertia but most of us don’t understand the importance. Newton stated this back in 1687, relating it to gravity and motion of a body.
With the Era of Productivity, This law translates to “Starting a work is the hardest part by once you are in motion, It gets easy.”
Once the momentum is built, We can leverage this Law and by using more habits we can maintain or even get a faster pace on self-development.
But there is no Motion with Friction right? The friction in our case are the distractions or the burnouts but we must remain on the same path and continue to move because stopping is essentially damage to the growth!
Conclusion
These laws helps us get a clear vision on more than just one aspect of life, They help us embrace efficiency, doing less but doing better and the power of consistency. The world is nothing but an endless chase of work and perfectionism, Be mindful and don’t forget to take your much needed break.
Cheers!!!
