Stop Focusing On The 80% That Doesn’t Matter

The 80/20 rule, sometimes called the Pareto principle, states that 80% of your results will stem from 20% of your actions. The implication is that 80% of your actions will have little impact on your long-term goals. That means you’re probably wasting a lot of time and effort working on tasks of questionable value. The Pareto principle is so named for the man that came up with it. Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, wrote a paper in the late 1800s claiming that 80% of the land in his country was owned by 20% of the people. Today, the 80/20 rule is commonly discussed in the context of productivity. For example, time management experts often refer to it when they talk about task analysis and prioritization. Most people attack their work with little regard for priority. Every task on their to-do lists is treated with equal importance. The problem, according to the 80/20 rule, is that most of the to-do items we spend time on are unimportant in relation to our goals. We can skip 80% of them without experiencing serious consequences. For example, consider salespeople. Most of them will admit a majority percentage of their sales come from a small percentage of their customers. That’s the 80/20 principle at work. Consider work-related projects. In many cases, the majority of the workload is handled by a minority number of parties. Corporate managers know that 80% of the work in their departments is done by 20% of their staff. Marketers know that 80% of their sales stem from 20% of their advertising campaigns. Customer service managers know that 80% of customer complaints come from 20% of their customers. CEOs know that 80% of their companies’ revenues are generated by 20% of their products. The 80/20 rule is simple. That’s one of its charms. And it carries major implications for the manner in which you should prioritize your to-do lists. The problem is, the rule is often misunderstood and applied incorrectly. For example, many people insist the 80% of tasks on their to-do lists that deliver little long-term value must still be completed. They claim such tasks can’t simply be ignored. While that may be true, it disregards a more salient point: tasks that deliver little value warrant less time and attention than tasks that deliver considerable value. For example, suppose you need to respond to emails from coworkers, an activity you’ve determined provides negligible value to your goals. You can’t just ignore the emails. But you can avoid spending a lot of time writing them. That’s a proper application of the Pareto principle. When we apply the rule correctly, we spend more time on tasks that matter and less on tasks that matter less. We not only get more things done, but we get the right things done. When we apply the rule incorrectly, or neglect to apply it at all, we risk creating obstacles that impede our productivity.

 How This Bad Habit Hurts Your Productivity 

Neglecting to prioritize the tasks on your to-do list impacts your workflow in five ways. First, as noted above, you end up focusing on the wrong things. You spend too much time working on low-value items, and consequently lack sufficient time to complete high-value items. Second, you become more inclined to mistake being busy for being productive. Working on a series of low-value tasks gives you the impression that you’re getting a lot done. But the tasks you’re working on merely keep you busy. Completing them doesn’t move you significantly toward your goals. Third, you end up spending your limited time on unimportant items that should be disregarded or delegated to others. Without a system of prioritization, you have no way to identify which tasks deserve your attention first, or at all. You thus have no choice but to address the entire lot, even the ones that are unlikely to move the needle on your results. Low-value tasks are assigned the same priority as high-value tasks, which severely dilutes your productivity. Fourth, neglecting the 80/20 rule eventually leads to frustration, discouragement, disillusionment and burnout. You feel continuously busy thanks to a long, never-ending list of low-value tasks, but never make significant advancement toward your objectives. Burnout erodes your motivation to work. That, in turn, causes your productivity to plummet. Fifth, because you’re perpetually busy with low-value tasks, you enjoy fewer opportunities to rest. That increases your stress levels and reduces your ability to concentrate. Both side effects cripple your ability to work efficiently and meet deadlines with minimal errors. Today’s goal is to apply the 80/20 rule in every area of your life in which you hope to become more productive. That may include your job, home life, hobbies, relationships and building a side business. Following are four easy steps you can take to get maximum value from the Pareto principle.

Action Steps

 1. Create a list of low-value, low-priority tasks. These are the items you can confidently ignore or delegate to others. For example, if you’re a teacher, you might spend an inordinate amount of time filing students’ papers in their respective cubby holes. If you have a classroom aid, ask her to file the papers for you. Suppose you’re a small business owner and have spent dozens of hours creating and updating your company’s website. Unless you’re an astute designer, that’s a poor use of your time. Hire a web designer and spend your limited time doing what you do best. The key is to create a list of tasks you can easily review. With that list in front of you, there will be little confusion about the items that deserve your time and attention.

2. Monitor how you spend your time. Keep a daily log for at least two weeks. At the end of that time frame, review it to identify areas that warrant your attention. Tracking how you use your time is crucial if you hope to increase your productivity. (We discussed this concept briefly in Days 8 and 19.) Here, the goal is to focus on the amount of time you normally devote to the tasks that appear on the list you created in Action Step #1.

 3. Look for opportunities to use the 80/20 rule to streamline other areas of your life. For example, apply it to your exercise regimen; focus on the few exercises that deliver the most noticeable results. Apply it to your internet surfing; focus on the few sites that give you the most enjoyment. Apply it to your household chores; focus your effort on the chores that deliver the biggest results. Growing accustomed to using the Pareto principle is like developing any new habit. It is reinforced through repeated, consistent application. By applying it in various ways, you’ll form a pattern of behavior that will have a positive effect on your overall ability to get things done.

 4. Hire an assistant. There are many services online that will handle low-value or low-priority tasks for you. These services offer to do everything from respond to your emails and pay your monthly bills to research topics and shop for gifts for your loved ones. You can find these services by typing “hire virtual assistant” at Google. Alternatively, hire a local high-school student. A few hours a week should suffice. Once you train this individual, you can trust him or her to handle simple to-do items with care and at low cost. The point is to delegate low-value tasks that cannot be ignored nor eliminated. Doing so will allow you to devote more of your limited time to activities that truly deserve your attention and focus.