Getting the Right Things Done with the Pareto Principle

It can be easy to get caught up in all the things you could be doing in your business: social media, launches, networking, business partnerships, online events, blog posts, videos, emails. The list goes on and on. But, when was the last time you took a moment to evaluate what you should be doing?

I don’t mean what the latest expert is suggesting you make a part of your daily task list, but what are the few essential things that actually drive results in your business? You might be drowning in a daily schedule of things, but in reality, only a small amount of what you do actually gives you the results you want.

So, let’s take a dive into the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule.

The Pareto Principle was named for Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who first observed the inequality of wealth and land ownership in Italy. He observed that approximately 80% of land was owned by only 20% of the people. He then took his observations to other countries and found that this idea held true for them as well. The minority held the majority.

It wasn’t until Joseph Juran, a business scholar and management consultant, applied this principle to other areas--mainly business--that the Pareto Principle came to be used as we see it today. Juran coined the phrase “the vital few and the trivial many” to show that 20% of the causes produce 80% of the results. So, in business, 20% of the products a company sells accounts for 80% of the profits. Twenty percent of the employees produce 80% of the results.

“If only 20% of your daily actions make up the vast majority of your success, then why are we wasting time on the other 80% of those actions?”

When it comes to productivity, the 80/20 Rule applies as well. Twenty percent of what you do in your business produces 80% of the results. If only 20% of your daily actions make up the vast majority of your success, then why are we wasting time on the other 80% of those actions? How much of your time can you free up by eliminating the trivial many and concentrating on the vital few? If we can identify for ourselves what that 20% is, we can accomplish 80% of our desired results with just that small percentage of effort.

So , how do we determine our vital few? 

Pull out a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, list all of the activities you do in your business. On the right side, list out the greatest accomplishments you've had in your business. Then, draw a line from the activity on the left that contributed the most to the success on the right. Do this for each of your accomplishments. You may actually discover that the same activities played a key role again and again in each success. Once you’ve gone through the list of accomplishments, what you’ll end up with are your needle-movers. These are the priority tasks--the vital few--in your business. 

Sometimes your vital few aren’t directly tied to income. Maybe you’ve noticed that working out in the morning helps you have more energy and think clearer throughout the day. On those days you skip the workout, you can see your work performance decline. That workout is a part of the 20% for you. So, don’t forget to include all of your daily activities such as bedtime, morning routine, self care, eating schedule and diet, etc.

Once you’ve identified your 20%, write a separate list with just these items on them. These tasks are your top priorities overall. Until you know them by heart, keep the list in a place you see regularly as a reminder of what to focus on. As you set your daily and weekly priorities, make sure they align with this list. 

On those days/weeks where you find yourself short on time or mental space, these vital few can become your only goals. If nothing else, this 20% gets done. On those 20-percent-only weeks, you can still rest assured that you are still accomplishing 80% of your desired results.

For more on effective time management, check out 3 Steps to Effective Time Management.