Parkinson's Law

This law shows a common problem with time management among developers. If a developer is given two weeks to complete a task that could be done in two days, the work will usually slow down, consuming most of that time. People might spend more time planning, bikeshedding minor details, or simply delaying the start of the work with the understanding that they have enough time.

Parkinson’s Law is often used to warn that loose deadlines reduce productivity, so teams should set clear, realistic time limits. However, managers must use it judiciously, combining Parkinson’s insight with realistic scheduling. If you compress timelines too much, you risk running into Hofstadter’s Law, which reminds us that work often still takes longer than expected, even with buffers.

• If you give a task an overly long timeline, people tend to use all of it (or procrastinate until the last minute), so the task takes as long as the deadline allows.
• Giving more time, teams often do polishing (gold-plating) or add minor improvements that aren't strictly necessary, just to use the whole time allotted for the task.
• A bit stronger (but realistic) deadlines can counteract Parkinson's Law by having a sense of urgency (called deadline-driven development).