How to 80/20 Your Life
The 80/20 rule (also known as The Pareto Principle) is a great mental model to refocus your priorities.
Reading a book from cover to cover doesn’t mean you’ve finished it. It means you read it. To truly learn, you need to create your own summary.
The rule can be simplified to:
80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action. The little things are the ones that account for the majority of the results.
Every time I sit down to think and ask the 80/20 question ("Do 20% of... [verb] 80% of...?") I make new discoveries and learn where to shift my focus, time, and perception.
Here are some questions to ask yourself for productivity:
Do 20% of customers drive 80% of profits?
Do 20% of tasks bring 80% of the results?
Do 20% of sources generate 80% of the distractions?
Do 20% of projects originate 80% of the problems?
Does 20% of your team completed 80% of the work?
Do 20% of customers make 80% of the complaints?
Do 20% of the bosses make 80% of the promotions?