# Stock-Sanford Corollary

> A corollary to Parkinson's Law stating 'If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do,' highlighting how work can contract to fit tight deadlines, though often misunderstood as encouragement for procrastination.

- **URL:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_law
- **Category:** Practices
- **Tags:** Time Management, Deadlines, Productivity Method, Psychology
- **Updated:** 2026-03-15 23:43
- **Canonical page:** https://timetrack.works/hi/items/stock-sanford-corollary

## Details

## Overview

The Stock-Sanford Corollary is the best known corollary to Parkinson's Law. It states: **'If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do.'**

## Relationship to Parkinson's Law

While Parkinson's Law states that 'work expands to fill the time available for its completion,' the Stock-Sanford Corollary represents a related observation about how work can also contract dramatically when time pressure is extreme.

## Important Caveat

This corollary can be misunderstood as an encouragement for procrastination. However, it's more accurately an observation about:

- How deadlines focus our attention
- The elimination of perfectionism under time pressure
- The ability to complete tasks more quickly when absolutely necessary

## Horstman's Corollary

A related principle is Horstman's Corollary to Parkinson's Law: **'Work contracts to fit in the time we give it.'** This represents the deliberate application of time constraints to increase efficiency.

### Practical Application
Taking a task you think will take 4 hours and only allocating 2 hours to it will likely result in completing the task under 2 hours, as the constraint forces you to work more efficiently and avoid perfectionism.

## Time Management Implications

### Strategic Deadline Setting
Understanding these corollaries allows for strategic use of deadlines to:
- Increase focus and eliminate distractions
- Reduce time spent on low-value refinements
- Combat perfectionism paralysis
- Improve overall productivity

### Risks
However, consistently relying on last-minute work can lead to:
- Increased stress and burnout
- Lower quality output
- Missed deadlines when unexpected issues arise
- Reduced time for revision and improvement

## Balance

The key is finding the balance between using time constraints productively (Horstman's approach) without falling into chronic procrastination (Stock-Sanford trap).

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