Hi, and welcome to the 5th law of the Top 10 Laws of Productivity and Effectiveness. Today’s law is on how to harness the power of the 80/20 rule, otherwise known as Pereto’s principle. The law states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
This is one of the most critical laws that you can grasp in order to increase your productivity. If you apply this law to everything in life, you will be amazed by the results you will get and you will decrease the amount of time it takes for you to get massive results and get things done. Many are aware of this law, however few actually decide to apply it. I am one of the guilty who know about it, however do not fully .
You aren’t going to STOP doing those tasks in the 80% area. The goal should be to decrease the amount of time spent on them, and increase the focus on those 20% tasks.
How do you determine your 20%?
One of the simplest ways to discover your 20% tasks, is to ask yourself, “What would I be doing if I only had 2 hours each day to work on things that would most impact my life or business?” Even better, “What would I do if I only had 2 hours per WEEK to work?” Ponder that question for a while, and brainstorm for your answer. Whatever you come up with, THAT is the 20% that you need to be focusing on. You want to try your best to spend more and more time working on those 20%.
So, how do you reduce the 80%?
- Be more productive
As I said earlier, you cannot completely forsake the 80% area, however there are ways to reduce the amount of time it takes to get those 80% tasks done quicker. First of all, DO apply all of the other laws of productivity that I discuss in this series in order to get these things done more efficiently.
- Delegate
A very efficient way to handle areas of work which are monotonous, time consuming, and process driven, is to delegate the tasks. This works especially well if you are in management of some form or another. If you are not, you can always hire a virtual assistant. The types of 80% tasks which you can delegate are:
* Filtering e-mails
In addition to setting up actual e-mail filters, if you get massive amounts of e-mail, you may have a virtual assistant comb through your e-mails and handle any tasks or responses which do not require you to answer personally. Your VA can then send you only the most important and personal e-mails.
* Filtering Phone Calls
This works the same as e-mail. If you get a lot of phone calls, you can have a VA screen those calls which are time wasters for you.
* Tasks which don’t require your hand such as:
- Website design
- SEO
- Various forms of research
- Doing taxes / bookkeeping
- Answering FAQs for customers
- Scheduling meetings
How to supercharge the 80/20 rule
The best way to make the 80/20 rule super effective for you, is to combine it with the law of setting limits. Once you pinpoint your 20%, set as many limits as possible, ESPECIALLY time limits, and you will be unstoppable. If you give yourself a very limited window of opportunity to accomplish a task, and you are working on a 20% task, you are sure to get it done. Why does this work? It circumvents the inner perfectionist that we all have within us. Some have it more than others, however we all do it.
Too many people just don’t apply this law. They say, “Oh yea you are right. That is very important.” But they DON’T DO ANYTHING about it! Don’t be that person. Take action now to ensure that you are successful with this.
Once you begin to harness and apply the 80/20 law into your life, progress will begin to speed up and results will pop up quicker and quicker. Make it a point to hammer this law into your constant conscious focus. Write it down somewhere in big bold letters where you will see it each day. Put is as your desktop background. Write it down on the top of a goal board. Place an index card in your pocket to remind you. Do whatever it takes to keep the 80/20 rule in the front of your mind.
How can you apply the 80/20 rule today? Have you had any major insights into things that you are wasting time doing? Share your experiences and reflect on how you will change your habits to increase your productivity.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
With only 2 hours to work I’d probably spend that time wondering what I should do with my 2 hours. Even if I have a preplanned activity planned, lol. But most of my results comes from that little effort I do manage to create.
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Colbycheeze Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Haha Tariq, that would be interesting. Sometimes the constraint can be scary, and so you might end up not doing anything because of wanting to be perfect with what you choose to do. You shouldn’t ever worry about what you are doing, just get a general idea and start working. The most important thing is to take action.
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The 80/20 rule is something that I am learning more and more about as I find new blogs. Just found this blog. I like how you made a series out of this. I will be reading through the other rules as well.
Alex Monroe´s last blog ..Success is Only a Book Away
[Reply]
Colbycheeze Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Yes the concept it widely known and talked about, however my thoughts are that a lot of people aren’t putting enough focus on the importance of it. Thanks for the comment, hope you find the rest of the blog useful!
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