Shrink the Plate & Get More Done

I reckon one of the most underrated productivity hacks I’ve learned over the years is this:

Work expands to fill the time you give it.

If you give yourself a month to get something done, it’ll take a month. But give yourself a week, and somehow, you’ll get it done in a week.

It’s wild when you think about it.

I remember back in kura, my kaiako (teachers) would give us a week to finish a project or hand in an assignment. And without fail, I’d leave it ‘til the last night, then cram and hustle my way through it and hand it in on time. Every time.

I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but I knew how to get the mahi done when it mattered.

That little lesson stuck with me.

Now as a business owner, husband, pāpā - I’ve come to realise it doesn’t stop at school. It shows up everywhere.

If I give myself a week to make a decision, I’ll take a week. But if I say, “You’ve got until the end of the day,” I’ll make that same decision seven times faster. And the beauty of making faster decisions? You get feedback faster toowhich means you learn quicker and you grow quicker.

Turns out, we don’t just fill time – we fill space too.

Whatever we give ourselves, we are experts at filling it.

So the trick? Shrink the space. Shrink the plate. Shrink the timeline. Force yourself to adapt and you will.

True story: give me a single garage, and I’ll fill it. Mostly with crap I don’t really need but I convince myself I will need in 3 years time - spoiler alert - that time never comes.

Now give me a double garage, and you’d think I’d only use half of it right? And use the other half for the car? Nope, you can rely on me to find a way to fill that too.

Big lounge? Guess I need a bigger couch and a massive TV. Spare bedroom? Better go buy some furniture for the guests who never stay.

We can’t help ourselves. We feel the need to fill whatever time or space we’re given.

But here’s what I’ve learned about myself (and what you can do too if you’re like me). When I learnt to “shrink the plate on purpose”, I unlocked a whole new level of focus and productivity.

Why am I talking about a plate? Well I tested this out with kai.

When I was trying to lose weight, I realised that if I used a big plate, I’d fill it and eat everything. So I bought smaller plates. And guess what? I still filled the plate, but I was eating less. That simple shift helped me cut back on calories without even thinking about it.

Same principle.

So now I ask myself - how often am I giving myself too much time? Too much space? Too much room to stretch out? And what would happen if I just shrunk the plate a little?

Most of the time, I find that I don’t need more time. I need more focus.

And shrinking the plate forces me to focus.

So if you’re still reading and thinking, this guy is describing ME… then try this out. Take something on your list, like a decision, a job, or a project, and shrink the plate. Cut the time in half. Give yourself a tighter time frame. Force yourself to adapt.

You’ll be amazed at what you can actually do when you stop giving yourself the luxury of so much time.

Ngā mihi,
Anton