So there are only so many minutes in a day, and with so many conflicting demands and priorities,
it can be hard to stay on top of your tasks and get things done without feeling completely
overwhelmed. If you’re like this and feel like a slave to your never-ending to-do list,
following the Pareto Principle might just do the trick for you.
The Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule was conceived by Vilfredo Pareto, who noticed
back in the early 1900s that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the country’s population.
In theory, the rule states that, for any event, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of
the causes.
So how can you apply Pareto’s principle to improve your own life?
Well, when you understand that the vast majority of your results are being driven by a small
percentage of your efforts, you can pinpoint which efforts are driving the most results
in your business ,and life, and then focus your energy on those things.
Let’s say, for example, you have a client roster that’s a mile long. But after a little
research, you realize that most of your revenue is coming in from just five clients. You could
get more done and drive more revenue if you focused your time and energy on those five
clients, instead of running yourself into the ground trying to manage your massive client
list and getting completely overwhelmed in the process.
For many high achievers, handling every task that gets thrown their way or even every task
that they would like to handle is impossible. They would use this principle to help them
determine what is of vital importance. And then, they delegate the rest, or simply let
it go.
So I want to talk about how you can use the 80/20 rule to be more efficient with your
work and improve your own productivity.
The first area where the Pareto Principle proves extremely useful is with regard to
GOAL SETTING
These goals don’t have to be about results, but rather more about what you want to accomplish
and need to get done. So for instance, if you set out to make a list of ten items that
you needed to complete, you then aim to choose the top two items that matter the most or
have the biggest impact. Now, these don’t have to be the most time-consuming items or
even the ones that require the most amount of work. But if you can identify which of
your immediate priorities would prove the most beneficial for you, you can then better
allocate your time and energy.
Crossing big items off your to-do list and down prioritizing less significant ones can
also eliminate menial tasks altogether. If there are goals you need to accomplish that
aren’t considered urgent, over time you may find that you can remove them altogether
because that item becomes pretty much redundant.
Another great way to apply the Pareto Principle is with regard to how you PRIORITIZE and order
your work. One of the main contributors to being unproductive
is jumping from task to task or a lack of focus on one item at a time. And with distractions
all around you, it isn’t isn’t too hard to lose your focus or struggle to enter a
state of flow with your work. Take a look at what you need to accomplish
on any given day. It could be that 20% of tasks need to be done in order for you to
actually finish the remaining 80% of your tasks. If this is the case, make an effort
to not jump from task to task, but focus on and complete that first 20% so that you can
actually spend less time and effort completing your subsequent to-dos.
Your goal when using the Pareto Principle is twofold:
Highlight your inefficiencies so you can eliminate them.
And Highlight your strengths so that you can use them to create more value.
Also if you want a copy of my FREE Productivity Cheatsheet that has 15 of my favorite tips
and techniques to help you work smarter instead of harder and improve your ability to reach
a state of flow, the link for that is in the description below. It’s totally free and
I’m super excited to share it with you so check that out.
Now, Once I started incorporating this 80/20 rule into my life, I found myself becoming
less stressed because I wasn’t overwhelmed with tasks that weren’t producing any real
results. Not to mention a higher level of engagement with my work by spending time on
the things that really mattered.
The good news is, the Pareto Principle isn’t set in stone, so it’s possible to leverage
it to your advantage and strive to be more productive. Don’t get hung up on the 80/20
ratio, but rather focus on the understanding that not all effort and output will be equal.
I’m going to leave you with a great quote from Tim Ferriss’ excellent book The 4 Hour
Work Week “Doing less is not being lazy. Don’t give
in to a culture that values personal sacrifice over personal productivity.”
As always, Drop a like on this video if you found it helpful. Don’t forget to subscribe
to the channel and hit that notification bell so that you don’t miss the latest videos
as soon as they’re uploaded. Thanks so much for watching. My name is Vihan Chelliah. I’ll
see you next time.