Introduction
“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
— This is the famous Parkinson’s Law, proposed in 1955 by British historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson.
We often, unintentionally, stretch our work to match the time we’re given.
Even a task that could be finished in 15 minutes somehow takes up a full hour if that’s how much time we’ve allotted.
A similar phenomenon can be seen when, for example, we create a generous schedule only to find that the extra time quickly gets filled anyway.
In other words, whenever we create “room” in our schedule, we naturally tend to fill it up.
Focus on Purpose and Desired Outcomes — and Eliminate Everything Else
Parkinson’s Law points out the problem that “work expands to fill the available time,” but it doesn’t offer a concrete solution.
That’s because this problem applies to nearly every kind of activity, and there is no simple “one-size-fits-all” answer.
In this article, we’ll look at one way to approach the issue: the idea that the true cause of time expansion lies not in the amount of time, but in the vagueness of purpose.
In other words, people unconsciously prolong their work when the endpoint of what they’re doing is unclear.
For instance, if you start working with the vague goal of “finishing a presentation,” you’ll keep revising endlessly because you never know when it’s truly done.
On the other hand, if you reframe it as “make it clear enough to present at tomorrow’s meeting,” the direction and endpoint become immediately clear.
That’s why the simplest and most effective solution is to clarify your purpose and desired outcome — and cut away everything else.
When your purpose is clear, the scope of your work naturally defines itself, and the expansion of time stops.
Instead of “make the document perfect,” say “make it clear enough for others to understand.”
Instead of “write a good blog post,” say “deliver one clear message.”
By defining the endpoint not by actions but by meaning, the way you use time becomes much more focused.
Practical Ways to Clarify Your Purpose
So how can we actually make our purposes clearer and eliminate the unnecessary in daily work and life?
Here are three simple, practical steps anyone can try:
Pause to ask why you’re doing the task.
Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
If the answer feels fuzzy, write down your reasoning in one line.
In doing so, you may realize, “I don’t really need to do this,” or “This isn’t the priority right now.”Define the desired outcome.
Clarify what it means for the task to be complete.
Don’t define success as “getting it done,” but as “what state would make me satisfied?”
This makes the finish line concrete.Make the task name specific.
Vague actions create vague purposes.
For example:
“Read a book” → “Read 15 pages today from the reference book I need to pass the certification exam this week.”
By specifying why, what, and how much, your actions become concrete and your completion criteria clear.
(Of course, for practical purposes, you can keep the task title short and include these details in the task notes.)
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By incorporating these three steps into your daily routine, each task becomes something meaningful, rather than something done just to get it done.
Once your purpose is clear, how you use your time naturally becomes more structured, and unnecessary work fades away.
Conclusion
No matter how efficient your tools or methods are, if your purpose remains unclear, your time will always expand without limit.
Especially when life gets busy, it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing each task and fall into the trap of working for the sake of working.
What truly matters is not how much you do, but why you do it and what result you want to achieve.
When those are clear, your actions naturally align, and you stop wasting time on things that don’t matter.
Ultimately, clarifying your purpose is the only fundamental way to stop time from expanding.
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