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- 本文原址：http://t.cn/A6PabyB0
- 翻译原文，略有调整。有E文基础的话建议看原文。
Why
While working, time can be our best friend or greatest enemy. While looking at your schedule of due dates you might want to consider Parkinson’s Law.
This rule states that “work expands to fill the time available”.
We all know due dates are important; they tell us how much time it takes to complete a project and inevitably turn it in.
In some cases we consider due dates to be like those dreaded college days where you waited until the due date to start your assignment. Alternatively, you might look at a due date as an energizing day in which you get to share new and exciting ideas.
Either way, you only have a finite amount of time to work; in those days, weeks, months, or even years, Parkinson’s law comes into effect.
工作时，时间是你最好的朋友，也是最大的敌人。当你检视你的有到期日的行程表时，你可能想考虑一下「帕金森定律」。
这个规则宣称「工作扩展以便填满所有可用时间」。
我们都知道到期日是重要的；他们告诉我们完成一个任务要花多少时间，而且不可避免。
在某些情况下，我们认为到期日像我们那些可怕的大学时光，你等到到期日才开始工作的日子。或者，你会把到期日当成一个充满能量的日子，在这天你可以分享新的和令人兴奋的点子。
无论如何，你只有有限的时间工作；在这几天，几星期，甚至几年中，帕金森定律开始起作用。
What
So what is Parkinson’s Law?
To break it down, Parkinson’s Law states that if you have a project that you have a week to complete, you will be able to complete it in that week; but if you have the same project due in a month, it will take you a month to complete.
In simple terms, Parkinson’s Law declares that “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
帕金森定律是什么？
把它分解，帕金森定律就是如果你有一个一星期要完成的项目，你将在这一周完成这个任务；但是如果你有一个可在一个月完成的同样的任务，你会花一个月来完成它。
简单的说，帕金森定律宣称「工作扩展以填补完成工作所需的时间」。
How
Using Parkinson’s Law to Your Advantage
According to Parkinson’s Law, then, the key to working more efficiently is;
Making a REALISTIC assessment of how long each task/project will take you, and
ENFORCING the due dates that have been set
If you are a blogger, for example, estimate how long a 1000-word article will take you to write.
Set a hard deadline and don’t let yourself exceed it! If you’re working solo, try to plan an activity post-deadline to make sure you don’t work overtime.
利用帕金森定律
关于帕金森定律，有效工作的关键是：
1、对每项任务/项目所需时间进行实际评估
2、强制执行已设置的到期日期
例如：如果你是一名博客，评估1000字文章需要花你多长时间。
设定一个艰难的最后截止日，并让你自己不要超过这一天！如果你一个人工作，尝试计划设定一个活动截止日期以便确保你不会工作超期。
For Managers
For managers, ensure your team is working efficiently by making realistic expectations of how long certain tasks should take for team members, and work hard not to allow them to exceed those limits.
There are a variety of tools that allow you to do this.
One of these is a Gantt Chart – using a Gantt Chart means that you can easily visualize timelines and deadlines.
Some project management software tools also provide reports based on effort, so you can see how long each team member spent on each task.
管理者
对于管理者，要通过某些任务的的实际预期和努力工作来保证你的团队工作有效，不要让他们超过他们的极限。
有很多工具可让你做到这一点。
其中之一是甘特图 - 使用甘特图意味着你能很容易可视化时间线和截止线。
一些项目管理软件工具还能提供基于效果的报告，这样你能看到每一名团队成员在每一个任务中花费了多长时间。
The Pressure Is On!
When you have a smaller amount of time to work, you are able to complete work quickly and efficiently.
However, a short work time doesn’t give you the opportunity to do much procrastinating which essentially builds the pressure up. When you have a longer time period to finish your work,it is easy to become distracted, bored, and fall prey to lolly gagging.
Without the added pressure of time, your work may not be as complete and concise as you’d like it to be.
压力已经到来！
但你仅有较少的时间工作，你必须迅速和有效的完成工作。
当然，短的工作时间不能给你机会去做一些让你根本上压力上升耽搁的事。当你有更长的时间完成工作，这会让你很容易变得心烦意乱，无聊，并成为棒棒糖的牺牲品。
没有时间增加的压力，您的工作可能不如您想要的那样完整和简洁。
Minimum and Maximum with Parkinson’s Law
So you might be asking yourself: should I give myself or my team members less time to complete work to increase pressure and productivity?
Well, yes and no.
Some things take time to complete and do well; if an assignment includes time consuming aspects, for example, field work and testing along with communicating with outside sources, then a longer time window would be best.
After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
But, sometimes, over-availability of time means that we don’t work as efficiently as we can or should.
帕金森定律的最小值和最大值
你可能会问自己：我应该给自己或团队更少的时间增加压力和生产力完成工作吗？
好吧，是和不是。
有些事花时间完成，可以做得好；如果一项任务包含费时的方面，比如，现场工作和测试以及与外界的沟通，一个较长的时间窗会是最好的。
毕竟，罗马不是一天建成的。
但有些时候，时间的过剩意味着我们没有尽我们所能或应有的效率工作。
Where else can I find Parkinson’s Law?
Have you ever heard of the saying you have to spend money to make money?
Well that might be true, but by using Parkinson’s Law, we also can confirm that the more money you have, the more money you will end up spending.
The same can be said for a home.
If you live in a studio apartment, then you will logically have a minimal amount of stuff to fill the apartment with. However, when you upgrade to a larger house or apartment, you will have more rooms and therefore more stuff to fill the rooms with.
Parkinson’s Law is everywhere in both your professional and personal life, and you can take advantage of it or get stuck in it.
我还能在哪里找到帕金森定律？
您是否听说过必须花钱才能赚钱的说法？
那可能是真的，但是通过使用帕金森定律，我们也可以证实你有越多的钱，你越会花光更多的钱。
房子也可以这么说。
如果你住在一室公寓，你会比较理性的放少量的东西填充公寓。但是，当你换成较大的房子或公寓时，你将有更多的房间，因此有更多的东西填充你的屋子。
帕金森定律存在于您的职业和个人生活的任何地方，您可以利用它或陷入其中。
So how do I use Parkinson’s Law?
Explaining Parkinson’s Law might be a little complicated, but executing it into your work is simple.
- Find a project you were recently assigned
- If there is a due date, assess the amount of time you believe you could finish the assignment in before the actual due date.
- If there is no due date, examine the project and make a close estimate to the minimum amount of time it would take you to complete the project
- Set a final due date or take note of the due date already given
- Make up little due dates for small tasks in the overall project (think action times)
- Make sure to keep everything up to date – remember the goal isn’t to simply complete your work in a finite amount of time, but rather to create a quality final result in a reasonable amount of time
- Set up rewards or take-aways: if you finished all your work by the due dates and they all hold up then reward yourself with a classy cup of coffee. If you didn’t make the deadline, get yourself a cheap energy drink and cancel your evening plans because you’re going to be working late tonight!
如何使用帕金森定律？
解释帕金森定律有点复杂，但是在您的工作中执行是简单的。
- 找一个您最近要干的项目
- 如果有截止日期，评估您在实际截止日期能完成任务化的时间值
- 如果没有截止日期，检查这个项目并估计一个最接近的您完成这个项目所需最小时间值
- 设定最后截止日期或者注意给出的截止日期。
- 为整个项目中的小任务安排很少的截止日期（思考行动时间）
- 确保一切保持最新 - 记住目标不是在有限的时间里简单完成您的工作，而是在一个合理的时间内创造高质量的最终结果。
- 设置奖励或外卖：如果您在截止日期之前完成了所有工作，并且都完成了任务，则可以喝一杯上等的咖啡来奖励自己。如果您没有按时完成任务，请给自己便宜的能量饮料，并取消晚上的计划，因为您今晚要干活到很晚！
How Good
帕金森定律（Parkinson's Law）是官僚主义或官僚主义现象的一种别称，源于英国著名历史学家诺斯古德·帕金森1958年出版的《帕金森定律》一书的标题。
帕金森在书中阐述了机构人员膨胀的原因及后果。
一个不称职的官员，可能有三条出路：
第一是申请退职，把位子让给能干的人；
第二是让一位能干的人来协助自己工作；
第三是任用两个水平比自己更低的人当助手。
这第一条路是万万走不得的，因为那样会丧失许多权利；第二条路也不能走，因为那个能干的人会成为自己的对手；看来只有第三条路最适宜。于是，两个平庸的助手分担了他的工作，他自己则高高在上发号施令，他们不会对自己的权利构成威胁。两个助手既然无能，他们就上行下效，再为自己找两个更加无能的助手。如此类推，就形成了一个机构臃肿，人浮于事，相互扯皮，效率低下的领导体系。
帕金森得出结论：在行政管理中，行政机构会像金字塔一样不断增多，行政人员会不断膨胀，每个人都很忙，但组织效率越来越低下。
对于组织，我们需要选择合适的人才；对于个人，需要时刻警示自己，做好有效防范和改进措施，才能规避帕金森定律的影响。
拓展资源
1、彼得原理;
2、墨菲定律