A long time ago, when I was a university undergraduate, I was introduced to the Pareto Principle. It got its name from Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist, political scientist, and philosopher born in the mid-19th century, He “stumbled” upon the concept when observing that about 20% of the peapods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.
And, out of curiosity, he kept observing the same pattern everywhere else. During a research for a paper, he discovered that approximately 80% of the land in Italy was owned by a few powerful people - 20% of the population. He went on to study the land distribution in other countries and found a similar pattern.
He continued his research and found that in various industries, organizations and even companies, 80% of the production often came from the 20% most productive faction. Finally, he published his findings.
80/20
Today, in common parlance, Pareto rule is known as 80/20 rule, or simply 80/20. The rule is present on all walks of life.
In languages, the most frequently used 20% of the words account for 80% of the word occurrences. The richest 20% people in the world have 80% of the world’s income.
A few years ago, Microsoft reported that 80% of the errors and crashes in Windows and Office were caused by 20% of the bugs involved. 20% of the customers are responsible for the 80% of the profit earned and 20% of the complaints received are from 80% of the customers.
The 80/20 rule can be simplified to: 80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action.
Of course, nobody is actually there with a yardstick to measure out exactly 80% and 20% for all of these items, but the approximate 4-to-1 ratio popped up constantly.
Whether it was between 75/25 or 85/15is irrelevant. The concept is what matters.
Questions
The 80/20 principle became a popular management tool that was used widely to increase efficiency and effectiveness within businesses and industries.
But, a few people thought to apply the 80/20 to everyday life or the ramifications it could have.
Ask yourself: What are the 20% of my tasks bringing me 80% of the results in specific goals? What are the 20% of my possessions I treasure most? For what do I spend 20% of my time that gives me 80% of my happiness? Who are the 20% of people I am close to, who make me the happiest? What are the 20% of the clothes I wear 80% of the time? What’s the 20% of food I eat 80% of the time?
Chances are, these are easy questions for you to answer.
The issue is - you’ve never considered them before. And, once you’ve answered them, you can easily focus on increasing the efficiencies in your life.
For instance, if 80% of people you spend time with add only 20% of the pleasure in your life (spend less time with them). If 80% of your clothes you wear only 20% of the time (throw or donate them).
Identify the 20% of the food you eat 80% of the time. It will probably explain whether you keep a healthy diet or not, and how healthy it is.
Ask yourself: What hobbies account for 80% of my time which only bring me 20% of my fulfilment? Do 20% of my workouts lead to 80% of my physical gains?
Recognizing these things eventually will inspire some changes in your choices and your lifestyle. Each contributes to your overall happiness and you should look for the shortcuts that give you 80% of the results. Whether you want to burn fat, build muscle or control cardio, you only need a couple of set exercises and the habit of exercising daily to lose weight. Add progressive tough assignments to those set of exercises each week and you will see results fast. For nutrition, we can spin the negative:“Do 20% of the foods I eat lead to 80% of weight gain?” If so, you know what to do.
Life in General
We could break 80/20 down into dozens of other categories. Let us take a few.
Goals: Focus on 20% of the work goals that will achieve 80% of your aspirations. Find out the resources needed – time, money, energy, etc. – to achieve those potential benefits.
Habits and Routines: 20% key power habits create 80% of value in your life; they may include exercising, reading, etc.
Decluttering: Throw away 20% of the things that take 80% of the space.
Home Appliances: Find out which appliances cause the most frustration, stress, and break down the most. Either learn to use it better, buy a new one or find a substitute that is less damage prone.
Daily tasks:If possible, outsource 20% of daily chores that bring you 80% of the stress.
Digital: 20% of your files use up 80% of the space; you use 20% of applications (in both computer and phone) 80% of the time. Take appropriate action.
If you use 20% of the gadgets 80% of the time, sell or give away the rest.
Email: Clean up 20% of the emails that take 80% of the space.
Use the 80/20 rule wisely
The 80/20 rule is a simple concept to grasp but a hard one to practice. If you manage to practise it well, there are hundreds of benefits. In personal life, you can better manage your finances, health, and space by decluttering your possessions.
Use the 80/20 model to pursue new hobbies or career paths, be more effective/efficient at your job, or find ways to be less stressed.
By cutting the non-essential and the things that generate little value, you declutter your mind, space and time.And that ultimately leads to a happier life!