Distracted? You may have room to take on more

“Parkinson’s law” is a common idea mentioned in productivity circles. The basic idea behind it is that our work tends to expand to fit the time available for its completion. For example, let’s say that today you have three one-hour meetings and that, if you focused on your work with intensity, the other stuff on your plate for today would take two hours.

That’s a total of five hours of work. But, you’re working eight.

This is where Parkinson’s Law comes into play. Without you realizing it, those two hours of work may expand to consume the five-hour container of time that they can occupy. Instead of taking on more work or breaks, you take on more busywork—work that feels productive that is really just shuffling things around.

Busywork is always tempting to work on in the moment. It’s usually more tempting than actual work. Instead of writing a response to a lengthy email, picking up your phone is easier. Instead of writing the 3,000-word report due by the end of the month, it’s easier to recheck email. Instead of generating ideas for a marketing campaign, it’s easier to scroll through the news again.

Doing busywork signals to our minds that we’re making progress on something (anything), even when we have little to do.

It’s natural to engage in it. But at the end of the day, it’s also (of course) unproductive.

Here’s a helpful trick when it comes to busywork: use the fact that you’re filling your time with busywork as a sign that you should step back to reflect on your workload. Often, we get stressed out because there’s too much on our plate. However, not having enough on our plate can be stressful, too, albeit in a different way. Instead of stressing that we won’t be able to get everything done, we stress that we need to fill our time with something—anything—and in the process, doubt and uncertainty arise that lead us to question if we’re working on the best possible thing.

If you’re engaged in busywork, you may have extra capacity.

What can you take on? What can you learn? What projects can you get unstuck on?

If you’re average, you may have too much on your plate and not too little. But if you engage in a lot of busywork, the opposite could be true.