Pareto’s Principle

The 80/20 Rule

Most of what exists in the universe – our actions, and all other forces, resources, and ideas – has little value and yields little result; on the other hand, a few things work fantastically well and have tremendous impact. There is no magic in the 80 and the 20, which are merely approximations. The point is that the world is not 50/50; effort and reward are not linearly related.

Most of the universe consists of meaningless noise, which can drown out those few forces that are tremendously powerful and productive. But if you isolate and harness those powerful, creative forces within and around you, you can exert incredible influence. The principle can be applied not merely to help corporations drive business results, but also to help individuals improve their lives. You can become more effective or happy by realizing the importance of just a few isolated people or things. If you concentrate on the few that work best for you, you can get what want. You can multiply your effectiveness, and even your happiness. You can use the 80/20 rule to gain individual fulfillment – this rule (or principle) is an extremely useful way to get more out of life.

“Don’t think of how you’re going to spend your time – use it.”
-Wilma Askinas

“Those who make the worse use of their time most complain of its shortness.”
-Jean De La Bruyere

“One always has enough time if only one applies it well.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time.”
-Victor Hugo

Focusing on a narrow set of the most impactful changes that can be made in your personal or professional life can bring about great improvement but also but also highlight the concentrated risk that exists with any changes in these decisions. In other words, changing 20% of your life or work represents a high risk/reward scenario. If handled well, it can lead to disproportionate [and incredible] improvements. While handled poorly, it can result in outsized detrimental impact. Make your choices wisely…

“Strive for excellence in a few things, rather than good performance in many.”
-Richard Koch

“Waste of time is the most extravagant of all expense.”
-Theophrastus

The 80/20 rule is one of the most important rules one must remember. The 80/20 rule is all about finding the small activities that produces the biggest results. For example, if you had 10 activities, two of those activities would build the greatest results. This rule is used in productivity for we are bombarded with so many things to do per day. However, by carefully selecting the right things to do, we can save a ton of time and maximize our output.

“Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output, and your output determines your future.”
-Zi Ziglar

“How much easier our work would be if we put forth as much effort trying to improve the quality of it as most of us do trying to find excuses for not properly attending to it.”
-George W. Ballenger