The Power of 80/20: Work Smarter to Achieve Your Goals

With today’s busy pace of life, we’re all looking for ways to achieve maximum results in the least amount of time. But what if there really was a way to focus on fewer things and get more done each day? Well there is, and it’s called Pareto’s Principle.

Here’s a little background. In the late 1940s, quality management pioneer Dr. Joseph M. Juran recognized a universal principle he called the “vital few and trivial many,” meaning that in most endeavors, there are only a few things that are vital and the rest is trivial. In his work, he likened this principle to a finding by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country. The formula was based on his observation that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. When Juran referenced Pareto’s findings in his own work, his principle (perhaps erroneously) became known as Pareto’s Principle or the 80/20 Rule.

Work smarter to achieve your goals

By now you’re probably wondering what this little history lesson has to do with you, and how it can help you manage your time and accomplish your goals. It boils down to this: most of the results in any given situation are determined by a small number of inputs. When you know this, and learn to recognize what functions are vital, you can learn to focus your effort on the few tasks that really make a difference to the outcome. And best of all, you can apply this rule to almost anything – just don’t get hung up on the numbers since they may not always break down to exactly 80/20. What matters is that you focus on the few activities that account for the majority of your success and happiness. Let’s try applying this to real life situations.

• If you run a business, you may employ dozens or even hundreds or thousands of people. But when you really look at the numbers and fairly assess output, chances are roughly 20 percent of your employees are responsible for approximately 80 percent of your output. Or maybe 20 percent of your customers are responsible for 80 percent of your revenue. Remember, these numbers don’t have to be exact, but you get the idea. Now focus on the 20 percent of employees or customers who are making the biggest difference to your bottom line. Keep them happy and reward them appropriately, but obviously don’t neglect the other 80 percent!

• Think of all the people you know socially. While it’s great to see any one of them, chances are, there are only a few you socialize with regularly. Those are the 20 percent to focus on, because obviously they contribute to your happiness.

• Look at your to-do list. There’s lots on it, isn’t there? Stop right now and reassess. What are the things that really matter today? It’s not the entire list, is it? Right. Now, prioritize and focus on the few things that matter (your ‘20 percent’). These are the things that yield the most results. If something has to give, try to make sure it’s something lower on your list. You’ll save time, stop stressing as much, and your quality of life probably won’t suffer.

• Let’s talk budget. Chances are, most of your money goes to just a few things, like mortgage payments, car payments, utilities and food. But those few things definitely contribute to your overall happiness, so you should really pay attention to them. That’s your ‘20 percent.’ Other things are nice, but they are not vital to your well-being.

Remember, focus your time and energy on the tasks that have the most rewarding outcomes for you, whether it’s financial, emotional or spiritual. It may take some time to identify your ‘20 percent,’ but once you do, you’ll work smarter and achieve maximum results by focusing on the few things that are truly vital to your outcome.

We’d love to hear how (or if) you apply the 80/20 Rule in your life. Leave a comment and let us know!

Tagged as: Goal Setting, prioritizing, productivity tools, Time Management