The law that you can use to your advantage is Parkinson’s Law, developed in 1955 by British Historian C. Northcote Parkinson which states: Work expands to fit the time at hand for doing it. At first this was an observation made by Parkinson as he observed organizations functioning, and he later proved it to be a law.
Parkinson realized that the same workload can be expanded according to the time allotted. In other words, a simple task that might only take an hour could be stretched over several hours if the time frame allowed. You can actually apply this law not only to work and time but also to finances as well as thoughts.
When we homeschool it involves our whole life every day. Day in and day out we are faced with a workload of studies, work around the house, work in the community, our own businesses or jobs to report to, which all affect our finances and through it all we are in a thought process which can be empowering or dis-empowering.
Here are three areas of life where you can use Parkinson’s Law to your homeschool advantage:
1) Stop spending so much time on one task. Try to batch like tasks together and focus on getting them done in the shortest amount of time possible. Try setting a timer for five minutes and have everyone do a quick dash cleanup around the house. Done. Allot an hour in the morning to make breakfast, eat, do dishes, household tasks and then it’s study time. You can do this within your work as well, batching like tasks together for ease and productivity. When everyone is on the same page using these batched times you will be amazed at just how fast you can get things done and then have a few hours in the afternoon or evening for the fun stuff you’ve always wanted to do. I like to call that my “beach time” because it’s a time for me to do what really fulfills me. Or you can lollygag and take hours to do a task, always running out of time. For myself, while I enjoy the time taking care of my family and studying, I feel better when I am able to get those things done. It’s very rewarding and then to move on to my “beach time.”
Practical tips
- Always have your next day scheduled in advance.
- Schedule your time in work batches; keep them small for more productivity.
- Be true to your deadlines even if that means dropping unnecessary tasks.
- Beat the temptation of distraction by setting up your environment and informing those around you what you are doing.
- Adjust your plan as you see what works and drop what no longer serves you.
2) Stop allowing your expenditures to increase with your income. Have you ever noticed that when you make more money your bills seem to match the income? Realizing this law is also at work with your money can be a real eye opener and increase your net worth when action is taken to change it. What the rich who keep getting richer know is that you have to increase your income but not increase your expenditures. They let their savings compound working for them rather than them always working for stuff. If you want financial independence then you are going to have to violate Parkinson’s law. You have to spend less than you earn. This is especially important to live by today with the changes in the economy and as we raise our children. We want to create our own financial economy so we don’t fall victim to the economy others create. We depend on money for our basic needs and we don’t know what the future will hold for our children, so it is extremely important that you defy Parkinson’s law when it comes to money management.
Practical tips
- Plan a family budget and be aware of your spending habits.
- Re-evaluate your spending habits and see if there is any unnecessary spending that can be cut.
- Let go of the need to entertain or buy your children’s love. They would rather have your time and love.
- Talk about the importance of personal finances with your children so they can learn these important lessons from early on.
- Make a list of benefits from increasing your income and lowering your expenses while saving and investing.
3) Stop being a slave to your thoughts and emotions. Any space that is not filled with high priority things will get filled with low priority things. Your mind and thoughts are not in control of you, you are in control of them. If you do not choose good thoughts and focus on what you love then your mind will fill in the empty space. You are the author of your life so you can write the story and decide how you want today to turn out. As you take responsibility you will feel less like a victim to circumstances and be able to create what you really want.
- Do what you love and focus on the work you are most passionate about.
- Fill your mind with good thoughts and gratefulness.
- Work on it every day, a little at a time, because inch by inch everything is a cinch.
- Give yourself the benefit of quiet time each day so you can be clear about you and how you want to serve life.
- When you find yourself down, notice it, stop it and replace it with good thoughts. This is a constant practice and you have to keep your thoughts filled.
When you homeschool, work and live your life with respect to the natural laws you will find yourself propelled to a life greater than you imagined. Since your children are home with you each and every day it is important that you implement these practices and enable them to live with respect to the natural laws as well. When you are feeling resistance or struggle it is simply a call to realign with the natural laws for your greatest good.
There’s so much to fill every day. Remember what really matters and in the process stay inspired, think good thoughts, maximize your time and create your finances to serve you. See you at the beach!