Work Expands to Fill Your Calendar, So Give It Less Time

Shaan Puri, talking through the end of the year with his friend and fellow businessman Sam Parr, counts 99 days left and says he almost feels like that stretch matters more than a New Year's resolution. His advice is to treat it the way an athlete treats the fourth quarter, and to ask one blunt question, in his words, "Have I made my mark on this year yet?"

The method behind the pep talk is a rule Puri says, "I think it's called Parkinson's Law." He describes it as "work expands to fill the time you give it," like a gas spreading out in a big space and staying tighter in a small one.

Parr adds the practical twist. He calls the idea of quarters stupid and says months are better. Four weeks, he says, is a significantly better unit. His reason, in his words: "The time that something takes is often dictated by like the increments that we measure them in." He makes the same point about calendars, which often default to 30 minute blocks, and argues for five minute increments instead.

Puri offers the test case, in his words: "if the default meeting is 30 minutes or an hour, guess what? You'll find a way to talk for 30 minutes to an hour." He adds that if you had "moved that same meeting to 22 minutes," you "would've got it all done in 22 minutes."

To try it this week, set three smaller containers. Name your fourth quarter, all 99 days of it, and write down what making your mark would mean before January. Break it into months, not one big year end push. Parr jokes that his Jewish friends get a three month head start on reflecting on the year because Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls in September. He half-jokingly credits that early start with their success, and likes the idea of making resolutions two months early. Then shrink one daily container, starting with meetings. Change the default, invite people to a 22 minute call, and let the work compress.