The 80/20 Rule Explained and How It Makes Your Life Easier

What is the 80/20 Rule?

The 80/20 Rule, or the Pareto Principle, is a valuable tool for maximum efficiency and productivity.

It states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort. To dramatically up your efficiency, focus on the 20% that produces the 80%. If you practice the 80/20, you unleash a superpower. Spend less time on low-productivity effort, concentrate your energy on what works, and bask in the admiration of your colleagues.

Make the 80/20 Rule Work for You

Do More, Work Less

The premise of the 80/20 is that when you catalog your most effective activities — the ones that yield the most important result — your time is better spent. To illustrate the concept, let's translate your work into time and the results into dollars. In this example, we'll assume you work 100 minutes and you receive $100. The split looks like this:

• 80 minutes of low-yield work = $20
• 20 minutes of high-yield work = $80

In this example, making $80 in 20 minutes is the best course of action. Moreover, you can devote your low-yield time to recreation or additional high-yield activities where you make $4.00/minute vs. the paltry $.25/minute you make for low-yield work.

Since the real world is never as cleanly defined as our example above, the trick is to cultivate an understanding of how your work performs for you in terms of money made, things accomplished, or satisfaction derived.

Define Your Objectives

Identify the tasks that are most important for achieving your goals. To do this, you need to be focused on your goals. Do you want to make more money? Enjoy more leisure time? Improve your community? Meet the partner of your dreams? Write a novel?

The things that actually bring you closer to your objectives are the most valuable. These are the tasks that will have the most impact on your productivity.If you want to write a novel that brings you accolades and fame, then the most valuable thing you can do is spend time writing and learning about the craft of storytelling. That means you aren't doing peripheral things like talking about your novel or getting lost in the minutiae of the best writing app, or watching endless TikToks of people talking about their novel.

Is money your thing? The power to control your circumstances and buy wherever you want? Then you need to look at the actions within your profession that produce the most revenue. Doing the same work at night gets you a nighttime differential (if you can deal with the hours). Overtime work can produce double the income for the same amount of work.

Clock Your Time

Once you map your goals and the things that get you there, look at how much time things take. You might be surprised to learn that some things you thought take a long time actually don't.

1. Analyze how much time you spend on each task and determine which ones take up the most time.
2. Focus on the most important tasks. You will probably notice that your most important tasks aren't necessarily the most time-consuming things on your to-do list.
3. Eliminate or delegate low-priority tasks: Identify low-priority tasks and those that don't contribute to your goals and remove or hand-off this work.
4. Track your progress by reflecting on your goals periodically and adjust your approach as needed.

Ready, Set? 80/20!

Create a To-Do List

It's time to get organized! Put everything you need to do in a single massive list. Just get it all down in one place. You'll be surprised how helpful it is to get it all out of your brain and on paper (or an app).

Map Your Tasks

Organize your tasks by objective so you can see what you need to do and rank your work by importance.

Add Next Steps

Now list the steps to accomplish your tasks. These should start with the next physical action you must take and then list the steps to see the task to its conclusion.

Set Deadlines and Commit

Deadlines are the best motivator; now is the best time to set your deadlines and commit.

Track Your Progress

Track your progress to stay on the right path and reach your goals. It's a great way to stay motivated and stay on top of your progress, and it's a fantastic tool for keeping your momentum going toward success.

Always Celebrate Wins

Recognizing and celebrating successes, big and small, reinforces the idea that hard work pays off and will motivate you to keep moving forward. Celebrating wins also helps to build a sense of community and collaboration, creating a positive and energizing atmosphere.

Bringing it Together

The 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort.

By focusing on the most effective 20%, you can increase your productivity and efficiency. To make the 80/20 Rule work for you, identify the tasks that are most important for achieving your goals, clock your time, create a to-do list, and track your progress. Celebrating your successes, no matter how small, will motivate you to keep moving forward.