As the British Empire declined and its footprint shrank, Cyril Northcote Parkinson noticed that the Colonial Office staff size increased. Work and bureaucracy expanded, not because there was more work — but because time and resources were more abundant.
Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
A simple task, given excess time, can become needlessly complex and stressful. Give yourself a week to complete a 30-minute task, and watch it transform into an unnecessarily sophisticated ordeal through overthinking or procrastination.
For larger projects, constraints can be helpful. Setting ambitious, time-bound goals can help improve efficiency and prevent task creep.
See also: The Manhattan Project, The Apollo Moon Landing, construction of the Empire State Building.