Overview
Any task will inflate until all of the available time is spent.
Origins
Articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson as part of the first sentence of a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955 and since republished online, it was reprinted with other essays in the book Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of Progress (London, John Murray, 1958). He derived the dictum from his extensive experience in the British Civil Service.
Further Reading
Related
Aesthetic-Usability Effect
Users often perceive aesthetically pleasing design as design that’s more usable.
Occam’s Razor
Among competing hypotheses that predict equally well, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.
Pareto Principle
The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.