Parkinsons law

Parkinson’s Law — originally coined to describe bureaucracies — states: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” 

Over the years, I’ve realized this doesn’t just apply to office work. It applies to life itself.

Give yourself a free evening, and you’ll likely find a way to fill it — sometimes with intention, often out of habit. A weekend with no plans? Suddenly, errands appear. Obligations multiply. Emotional loops replay. It’s as if stillness is too unfamiliar, even threatening. So we stay in motion — not because we must, but because we’re used to it.

And it makes me wonder: Are we managing time, or is time managing us?

We often chase productivity, but rarely ask: Productive toward what end? Sometimes, the most radical thing we can do isn’t to squeeze more into our day — but to protect some space within it. Space for rest. Reflection. Or simply, to be.

When the mind is blank, we often let the motions take over. Stillness can feel like a void. Silence, unsettling. So instead of sitting with ourselves, we hand the wheel to momentum — letting routines, impulses, and distractions decide for us.

It’s not that everything we do is necessary. It’s just that empty space invites awareness — and that can be uncomfortable. We’re rarely taught that doing nothing is allowed. That rest isn’t wasted time. That boredom might just be the doorway to insight. Instead, we stretch small tasks into long rituals. Fix things that don’t need fixing. Scroll endlessly. Work longer than needed — not for progress, but for relief from the discomfort of not doing. 

Maybe real freedom isn’t having more time — it’s choosing what not to fill it with.