Parkinson's law

or Parkinson's Law

noun

1. the statement, expressed facetiously as if a law of physics, that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.

Parkinson's law

noun

1. the notion, expressed facetiously as a law of economics, that work expands to fill the time available for its completion

Parkinson's Law

1. A law propounded by the twentieth-century British scholar C. Northcote Parkinson. It states, “ Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Parkinson's law¹

First recorded in 1950–55; after C. N. Parkinson

Word History and Origins

Origin of Parkinson's law¹

C20: named after C. N. Parkinson (1909–93), British historian and writer, who formulated it

Example Sentences

Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

From Seattle Times

First, whereas Parkinson’s Law suggests that longer deadlines lead people to set easier goals and therefore decrease effort, we found that longer deadlines increase an assignment’s perceived difficulty.

From Seattle Times

Second, while Parkinson’s Law makes a prediction only about time commitment, we found that longer incidental deadlines increase monetary commitment.

From Seattle Times

In productivity circles, this phenomenon is known as Parkinson’s law.

From New York Times

The best way to avoid Parkinson’s law of triviality is to get the agenda right.

From Economist