Cyril N. Parkinson was a British historian who in the 1950s dedicated himself to studying the bureaucratic system of England. He discovered that as the empire lost relevance, the number of public employees increased. He found that bureaucracy increased by 5-7% annually, regardless of the amount of work to be done.
Thus he outlined the universally known Parkinson’s laws, one of which indicated that “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” However, he also detected another trend that was equally important for the functioning of society, companies and even individuals themselves, which he baptized as the “Law of Triviality.”
What does Parkinson’s Law of Triviality postulate?
In his 1957 book “Parkinson’s Law, and Other Studies in Administration,” he mentions a fictitious corporate committee that is tasked with addressing three issues: 1. The construction of a large nuclear reactor, 2. The construction of a small shed for bicycles and, 3. The annual coffee budget for recurring meetings.
The reactor is a complex issue, which few committee members understand, so they don’t feel comfortable discussing it and quickly approve it after just two and a half minutes.
Then they move on to the next item on the list, but because they want to feel like they’ve made an important contribution to the project, they decide to leave their mark on something they can understand better: bike parking. This is a topic that many of them understand, which is why they waste time arguing about the material with which the roof should be built or the design of the space. Finally, after forty-five minutes, and having found ways to save a small amount of money to build the bike shed, they conclude with a sense of accomplishment.
Next, they move on to the last item on the list: the annual coffee budget. It is obviously the least important issue on their agenda, but also the easiest to understand, so everyone also participates, even those who did not give their opinion on bicycle parking. As a result, they waste almost an hour on this matter.
The Law of Triviality, also known as “bikeshedding”, describes our tendency to spend a disproportionate amount of time on minor, trivial matters while neglecting truly important issues. It also implies giving disproportionate weight to trivial tasks and concerns while ignoring transcendental or significant problems.
The systemic effects of ignoring what is important
The Law of Triviality is the reason why many businesses fail and those endless and ineffective work meetings. It’s also why many important things don’t work as they should in society, as we pay more attention to the inconsequential aspects and put more effort into what won’t make much of a difference while we tiptoe around what can really make a difference for everyone.
However, the Law of Triviality is not limited to businesses or society, it also has a huge impact on our daily lives. When we fall into their trap, we spend an enormous amount of energy on issues that make no real difference in our lives. We may be very busy, but we don’t really move forward. This generates frustration and leaves us emotionally and intellectually drained, but barely moving from the starting point.
Our tendency to focus on trivial matters leads us to operate at a suboptimal level because we are not able to allocate our time and energy efficiently. This causes us to take longer to make important decisions and to leave critical problems unattended for a long time, often allowing them to continue to grow.
Why do we focus on the inconsequential?
There are two human tendencies that explain the Law of Triviality:
1. Fear of the unknown. When we have to face a big problem or make a significant decision, it is normal for some resistance to appear. The uncertainty that these types of scenarios entail or simply our lack of knowledge makes us feel that we are launching without a parachute, so we unconsciously tend to postpone these matters as long as we can. In fact, many times we don’t address them until life puts us between a rock and a hard place.
2. Search for security. We all have the tendency to look for certainties. We feel infinitely more comfortable in environments that are familiar to us than in new contexts to explore. Focusing on the small details, those that we know and that are under our control, gives us a feeling of security and makes us believe that everything is going well. For this reason, we often prefer to focus on the smallest and inconsequential things while we ignore what destabilizes us or that we cannot fully control.
Obviously, the fact that this tendency has a psychological explanation does not mean that it is always positive.
The 3 keys to escape the traps of triviality
There is nothing wrong with paying attention to the details, but as long as we do not neglect the most relevant aspects. In fact, if the problem is complex or generates a lot of stress, we can manage it little by little, starting with the parts that we can control, even if they are more inconsequential. However, we must not lose sight of the important decision.
To escape the Law of Triviality and prevent tasks, worries and insignificant things from dragging us down, it is convenient:
• Identify the situations that cause the most resistance. Depending on the emotional baggage you carry and the psychological resources you have, it will be more difficult for you to address some topics than others. Knowing the areas in which it is difficult for you to make decisions is the first step to understanding that it is precisely in them that you should invest more resources.
• Set time limits. One strategy to escape the Law of Triviality is to set time limits. It is not enough to set the goal of solving a certain problem, you must specify when you will do it and how long it will take. This way you will reduce the chances of sabotaging yourself or prolonging decision-making indefinitely.
• Learn to prioritize. We often make the mistake of confusing what is urgent with what is important, so we can spend much of our days putting out fires while neglecting what really makes a difference. Therefore, if you want to regain your focus and really move forward in life, you need to learn to prioritize and focus on the big picture.
Don’t let fear of the unknown or the magnitude of the task paralyze you, causing you to waste precious time and energy on tasks that don’t add much in the long run. If you are not sure if you have lost your way, ask yourself: “Should I dedicate so many resources to this?” If the answer is “no,” it means you’re probably going off the rails, so restructure what you’re doing to make room for those really important things that can push you in the direction you want.
Source:
Prkinson, C. N. (1957) Parkinson’s Law, and Other Studies in Administration. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Boston.
