Your work expands to fill the time you allow for it.

That’s called “Parkinson’s Law.”

In simple terms, that means if you give a task an hour to complete, it will take an hour. 

If you give it only 30 minutes, it will take 30 minutes. 

That’s because if you only have 30 minutes to complete the task, you will work with more focus and effort than if you give yourself 60 minutes  

Here’s a diagram which shows how Parkinson’s Law works: 

That’s why deadlines are so effective: as the deadline approaches, you work with more focus and urgency so you complete the project on time. 

What exactly does this have to do with sales? 

It’s simple – I coach hundreds of sellers, and one of the most common challenges they face is this: 

“I’m working long hours grinding away, but I’m not getting the results I want.” 

Sellers are working longer and harder than ever before, but are not working efficiently or on the right things. 

I recently coached a seller who was working 50+ hours/week. 

He fired up his laptop every night after putting the kids to bed, and worked a few hours on the weekends. He was exhausted, overwhelmed, and this work schedule was taking a toll on his health. 

In our last coaching session, we did a full calendar audit, where I looked at how he spends his time from the moment he wakes up, until the moment he goes to sleep. It turns out he was doing four different “sprints” of work, which is highly inefficient as it’s difficult to get into a flow state with so many stops and starts. 

We then optimized his calendar, so he could work less, sleep more, and spend quality time with his family. Key changes included replacing the morning work sprint with a morning run, and replacing the evening work sprint with time relaxing with his wife. 

Here’s a snapshot of his old schedule vs. new schedule. 

Old Schedule (Mon-Friday + 2 hours working on weekends)

6:30: wake up

6:30-7 – coffee, walk dogs, energy shake get dressed

7-8 work power hour

8-8:15 – take kids to school

8:15-8:30 – get ready for work

8:30-12 work 

12-1 go on run

1-1:30 eat/take a break

1:30-5:30 work 

5:30-9:30 take kids to sports, eat dinner, family time, etc.

10-11:30: work

Work: 47-50 hours/week 

Sleep: 7 hours

New Schedule 

6:30am – wake up

6:30-7 – coffee, walk dogs, energy shake, get dressed

7-8 – run (with audio book) 

8-8:15 – take kids to school

8:15-8:30 – shower, get dressed, and spiritual practice (visualization, gratitude, or affirmations)

8:30-12 – work (time blocking first, then power hour before anything else )

12-1 – lunch with wife

1-5:30 – work

5:30-9:30 – family, sports, evening routine

9:30-10:30 – chill, watch a show, read, hang with wife

10:30-11 go to bed 

Work: 40 hours/week 

Sleep: 8 hours 

My client is not alone. So many sellers are working harder than ever, but their results aren’t reflecting their efforts. 

It’s because they are not working efficiently, and they’re working on the wrong things. 

If you want to work less and sell more, I made a video outlining the key areas to spend your time on, and how to do your own calendar audit to maximize your work performance, health, and relationships. 

PS – If you are working long hours and not getting the results you want, book a free coaching call with my team here. We can audit your calendar and recommend changes to maximize your efficiency so you perform your best every day!