The Pareto Principle: Getting 80% Done In 20% Of The Time!
By using this one trick, you will be able to quadruple your productivity within mere seconds...
P.S. if you can not be bothered to read all of this, then just read the text I have highlighted in bold and italics, as well as the quotes
Imagine being able to unlock the secret door of productivity and grab hold of so much free time, using a trick that only roughly 5% of the population uses. Imagine being able to get the same amount of work done in only the fraction of the time, by discarding all the fluff and only working on the ideas which you deem are important. Well, welcome, to the Pareto Principle.
What is the Pareto Principle?
It is one where, for many outcomes, roughly 80% of what happens come from 20% of what actions you do (the "vital few"). Sometimes this rule is called 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few. Some examples of this principle in real life include:
20% of the drivers on the road are the cause of 80% of all accidents.
20% of all factories cause 80% of the pollution.
20% of the products produced by a company represent 80% of revenue from that company.
20% of workers are the cause for 80% of the results.
“What is important is rarely urgent, what is urgent is rarely important.”
Why Does the Pareto Principle Matter?
Ok, so, we know what the Pareto Principle is (20% of what you do constitutes to 80% of the outcomes), but why does it matter? Here’s why: if you can lock onto the 20% of the work which yields 80% of the results, then you will have saved yourself 80% of the work.
Example - Revising For a Test
Let’s say, for example, that you have a test in 5 days. You can either study 10 hours for the test, doing 2 hours per week (which is quite a bit), trying to get to 100%, OR, you can just focus on the 20% of the work which is actually important and will get you a solid grade of 80%. As a result, you will have essentially shortened a workload of 10 hours in 5 days , to 2 hours in 5 days (2 hours of studying a day —> 0.4 hours of studying a day). All of a sudden, you have just saved yourself an extra 1.6 hours a day to do whatever you want, that being playing games, going out with family and friends, etc… True, you could spend that extra 1.6 hours to get a higher grade, but, at that point, you are trading a lot more time, for a smaller increase in percentage score. You will be experiencing something called diminishing returns. The point of diminishing returns is different for everybody, and for different tasks, so you will, unfortunately, have to find that out yourself (but, you can make a pretty good guess).
(Below is a graph talking about how going past the point of diminishing returns can negatively impact your life. The total input, in this case, is time, and the total output, in this case, is percentage score).
When you get to that stage, where you trade an inconsiderable amount of time just for a higher grade, it is not worth it (unless you really REALLY want to get that extra mark, to be the top of your class, then, by all means, do it). Other examples include:
20% of your training leads to 80% of the results (if you are working out).
20% of work at a job leads to 80% of the salary (if you are at a office job).
The most frequently used 20% of the words account for 80% of the word occurrences (if you are trying to build a new language).
You wear 20% of your clothes around 80% of the time (come on, we all should know this one at least, with the amount of clothes that all of us buy for events).
How to Apply it in Your Life.
Example - Exercise
So now we know what it is, why it matters, and even examples (and 1 in-depth one) of where it occurs. However, I am stuck on how to use this knowledge effectively, and translate this idea practically into the real world. Well, don’t worry, this following paragraph will explain it for you. Let’s take the example of exercising, since, through examples, we learn best. Person A wants to lose 3kg in 6 months. How does he get there? Well, for starters, he could try out a couple of different exercise regimes, such as cardio, weightlifting, HIIT, or even a mixture! Then (and here is the important bit), record each activity you did and how useful it was, having concrete evidence to support your claims. After 3 weeks of experimentation, you need to step back, and analyse which exercise is most effective. Circle the ones which are (these are your 20% which are the most useful and transformative exercises), and rinse and repeat for the next 6 months until you have lost 3kg. Of course, in this example of exercise and fitness, you will have to take into account diet and rest days as well, but we are ignoring all of that for now, just for the sake of applying the Pareto Principle in your own life. Also, there are a plethora of other ideas that this principle could apply for, but I just chose exercise since it is the most easiest to understand (and relatable). So, in short:
“How to Apply the 80/20 Rule IRL:
(1) Make a list of the 10 things you spend the most time on.
(2) Circle the two that truly drive your results. Do more of those.
(3) Look at the other things. Eliminate what you do not need. Automate or put on pause the ones which you can.
(4) Repeat until you have completed what you want”
And that’s it! You now know: what the Pareto Principle is, why it matters, and how the apply it in your life. You have become a master of your own time. All you have left to do now is just subscribe to this newsletter, so you can get more insightful insights every Saturday to your email. Best of all, it’s free, and you can cancel any time you want. It’s a win-win situation, there’s nothing to lose. So, go on, click the beautiful button (I know you want to😉)…