Parkinsons Law is the observation that the duration of public administration, bureaucracy, and officialdom expands to fill its allotted time span, regardless of the amount of work to be done. It was first coined by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in a humorous essay he wrote for "The Economist" in 1955. Parkinsons Law applies to pretty much everything, and no one is immune to it until they recognize it and find ways to personally overcome it.

Parkinsons Law has several corollaries, the best known being the stock-standard corollary to Parkinsons Law. Some of the other corollaries include Parkinsons Law of Triviality, Peter Principle, Planning Fallacy, and Time Management.

Parkinsons Law is not a scientific principle, but an observation of a phenomenon that many people have experienced. It is often talked about in regard to personal productivity, but it really rears its ugly head in group settings where counterproductive tendencies are ever-present. For example, Parkinsons Law of Triviality states that people within organizations often give undue time and attention to trivial matters.

To overcome Parkinsons Law, it is essential to understand it and find ways to prevent the eleventh-hour crunch to get work shipped. One way to do this is to start early by planning a successful project kickoff where you can set expectations about how much time is needed to complete the project. Another way is to assign accurate deadlines to tasks, which can help maintain the simplicity of the task and reclaim your time. By working faster, not harder, and combining reasonable time and work estimates with a little optimism, you can aim for getting deadlines just right.