Productivity Tip #5 - The Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle: 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes.

The term is named after Vilfredo Pareto, an economist from the early 20th century.
He noticed that 80% of the land was owned by only 20% of the popuplation.

Try to apply the Pareto Principle to your own situation, keeping in mind that:
It's not always an exact science, meaning it might not be exactly 80/20 (20%)

The idea is to detect the 20% of causes that lead to 80% of the results you want to achieve.

• 20% of the carpet in your office gets used 80% of the time
• 80% of your time goes to 20% of activities

Example:
If you use a to-do list for the day, and there are 10 to-do's, find out the 2 which will bring you the most results.
Then:

• try to spend 80% of your time on these two things
• and/or do them as soon as you can

The Pareto principle can give you a quick rule of thumb that you can apply to determine what is the most important thing or how to best use your time.