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Give a task a week and it will take a week.
Parkinson noticed that work stretches to fill whatever time you allow it. Shorter, honest deadlines often produce the same result in far less time.
Try this today: Halve the deadline you set for one task today.
Parkinson's Law — C. Northcote Parkinson (1955)
Essay in The Economist, November 1955
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Your focus is a sprint, not a marathon.
Work for 25 minutes on one task, then take a 5-minute break. After four rounds take a longer rest. The timer turns a huge job into small, winnable rounds.
Try this today: Set a 25-minute timer for the task you keep avoiding.
The Pomodoro Technique — Francesco Cirillo (2006)
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The loudest task is rarely the one that matters most.
Sort tasks into four boxes: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither. Real progress lives in the second box.
Try this today: Move one important-but-not-urgent task into today.
The Eisenhower Matrix — Dwight D. Eisenhower, popularised by Stephen Covey (1989)
Popularised as the Time Management Matrix in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989)
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Focused, undistracted work is becoming rare — and that makes it valuable.
Your best thinking happens in long blocks with no phone, no email and no switching. Shallow tasks feel busy; deep work moves things forward.
Try this today: Book one 60-minute block today with notifications off.
Deep Work — Cal Newport (2016)
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Small tasks cost more to remember than to do.
If something will take less than two minutes, do it the moment it appears. Writing it down, tracking it and remembering it takes longer than finishing it.
Try this today: Clear every two-minute task in your inbox right now.
Getting Things Done — David Allen (2001)
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