Nineteenth-century Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, claimed that approximately 80% of Italian land in 1896 was owned by 20% of the population. This 80 20 rule or Pareto Principle is a common proverb in today’s business and life. Let’s decode this further.

What is Pareto Principle?

80% of results will come from just 20% of the actions; this is the crux of Pareto Principle. There are several business cases to understand this principle i.e., 20% of customers account for 80% of total profits; 20% of the sales representatives generate 80% of total sales and many more.

In simple day to life, you end up wearing 20% of your clothes 80% of the time or, you probably use just 20% of your mobile apps 80% of the time. This principle highlights a simple universal law, ‘all things are not created equal and every input does not lead to the same output’.

How can you use the 80 20 rule to boost productivity?

 Keep track of where you are spending your time

Take time to write down activities that give you 80% of the results. Keep a tab of these activities in the calendar and make adjustments so that you maximize the activities that provide you biggest positive results. Simultaneously, identify and eliminate activities that give you no or negligible results.

 Think less, do more

Far too much time spent on thinking and planning leads you nowhere. If you spend 80% of your time only thinking and planning, your work or business will not move in any direction. Taking reference from the content industry, if you will devote 80% of your time in creating the content and the balance 20% of your time in planning or thinking about it, irrespective of the platform or medium, you will see a positive impact on your work.

Bring clarity on what you want to achieve

The golden rule of productivity is to be crystal clear on what we want to achieve. Before you embark on any task or project, list down all the tasks required to complete the project. The focus on those 20% project-related tasks will drive you 80% forward in concluding the project. This brings efficiency to the whole process and boosts productivity.

80 20 Pareto Productivity hack can apply to any real-life situation. What you need to understand is that there are limited hours in the day and days in the week. Pareto Principle enables you to be a master of never-ending tasks my prioritizing.