The 2 Golden Habits of the 80/20 Rule
The Pareto Principle - or 80/20 Rule - states that 80% of the benefits come from 20% of the effort.
For productivity, the 80/20 is simple and comes down to practicing two straightforward habits.
Do the Right Things Picking the right thing to work on is the most important element in being productive and is typically overlooked. A blind effort by itself is worthless and does not justify time-investments
Many people spend too much time puzzling on how to optimize their workflow, and not enough on questioning if they’re working on the right problems.
To avoid this mistake, make time to think about what you should be working on to reach your goal. (I’m serious: even if something is a high priority for you, if it isn’t scheduled on your calendar, it often doesn’t happen.)
Do Not Multitask Does deep work involve Facebooking? No.
Does coding require that you reply to messages WhatsApp messages? No.
Do you need to check your email to write? No.
It’s that simple.
The thing is: multitasking doesn’t exist. It requires our brain to store all the relevant information about the main task in our temporary memory, in order to free our working memory for engaging in the distraction of our choosing. And when we’re done and return to the job at hand, the same process occurs.
Instead, focus on one thing at a time and magic will happen