Improve your life with the 80/20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The 80/20 Rule means that in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many(80 percent) are trivial.

Pareto’s Principle tells us that we get a maximum amount of results (about 80%) (both good and bad) from a small percentage (about 20%) of our efforts/relationships/ resources/systems. If we can simply determine what parts of our lives are giving us the greatest results, and seek to enhance that powerful 20%, then we can dramatically improve the quality of our lives and our levels of success.

Identify the activities that take up 80% of your time and effort and give you 20% of your results, What are absolute wastes of your time and energy? What relationships, activities, systems, and pursuits are giving you the least return on your investment of time and energy (these are the items that fall into your personal 80% zone)?

Pareto's Principle, the 80/20 Rule, should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of your activities that are really important. Don't just "work smart", work smart on the right things.

Get a piece of paper and identify the activities that take up 20% of your time and effort and give you 80% of your results. What five things can you do for each of the items below to make each one even more powerful? Write your answers down.

• What relationships are the most powerful for you right now?
• What health and fitness activities are or could be bringing you the most dividends?
• What systems, if optimised, could make you most effective (think filing and storage, morning rituals, daily routine, food, household, work habits, organisation)?
• What pursuits recharge your battery the most and bring you the most joy?
• What business activities are generating the most profit? Clients? Results?
• What non-urgent activities are or could be bringing you the most personal/professional growth?

Build your life on the 80/20 principle and be careful about the amount of time and resources you spend on the areas that don’t bring you the results you want.