The unexamined life is not worth living.
--Socrates
80% of your results come from only 20% of your efforts
Although I had heard of the 80-20 rule several years ago, it wasn’t until this year that it fully sunk in and I saw it in action all around me. The more I looked for signs of it, the more obvious it was. I don’t know what sparked the insight, but it was one of the most important methods that I have put into play this past year and it has made a profound difference in my life.
Pareto, a French-Italian economist from the mid-1800s, unearthed and documented the phenomenon and it's since been dubbed "Pareto’s Principle."
Pareto’s Principle which is now commonly referred to as the 80-20 rule basically states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the cause. This clumping has been proven over and over again. Sometimes it’s closer to 70-30 or 90-10, but the overall concept remains relevant and true.
Did you know that 80% of the wealth is kept by 20% of the population? If we took all of the money in the nation and distributed it evenly across the population, it would not take long for the 80-20 ratio to go back into play and the wealth distribution to return to 80-20.
To put this into really practical terms consider that 20% of your workday contributes to 80% of your results. The remainder of your efforts might be made up of chatting with your co-workers, answering low-priority or low-value emails, creating presentations with colorful graphics that only a few people see and which don’t provide any results, or my personal favorite, attending meetings with no clear agenda or objective and walking away with no decisions or direction.
I try to get out of these whenever possible, but often my own boss is calling them. Then I use the, “Is there anyway I can follow up with you after the meeting on the results? I promised John I’d have the x report to him by end of day.” And since there usually aren't any resultsl, there's nothing to follow up on. If your manager isn't the one calling the meeting make sure there's an agenda and set objectives before you accept.
How about this one: You schedule a meeting to gather information and to make key decisions to move forward on your program. You are forced to follow up because not everyone responds to your online invite; you have to reschedule because people didn’t have their calendars up-to-date. Finally, the meeting takes place and the data you asked Sara to bring isn't quite what you asked for and someone else needs to tie-off with their management before they can agree to the decision being proposed – which forces you to schedule a follow-up meeting. Does that sound familiar? That is the 80-20 rule in serious action. Sucking up your resources (TIME) and making you non-productive.
Take this same rule home and look into your closet; Twenty percent of the clothing in your closet gets worn 80% of the time. The rest of it, the majority of it, just hangs there aging into obsolescence. And all of it is draining on your resources. Did you buy a bigger house with bigger closets and more storage for the 80% of your belongings that go into the attic, closets and garage and are rarely heard from again. When you do want to pull it out at some point and put it to use, you have absolutely no clue where you put it. Or you do find it, only to discover that it's rusted or broken.
Now that you’re aware of the 80-20 rule it’s time to see how it can work for you. How you can use it to be more productive, how can you de-clutter your life in all aspects, from belongings to unproductive recurring meetings.
Step 1: Spend a week or so, just observing the 80-20 rule in action. Track mentally or on paper how you are spending your day. I tend to focus on my time as it is the single most important resource in my life, then brainstorm what is consuming your time, money or attention with little results. And then cut away at them until over time you will find that you can produce more results in less time than those folks that are putting in over time. Seriously. Only you might want to keep that to yourself.
I would love to hear how this works for you. Email me.