80/20

“Concentrate every minute like a Roman on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness.”
— Marcus Aurelius

The Obstacle

We devote much of our time and attention to the things that urgently call for our time and attention.
The little things that crop up every minute, every day, every hour.

Requests from friends and family.
The needs of children.
Helping co workers.
Answering emails.
Clearing inboxes.
Text messages.
Phone calls.
Meetings.
To do lists.
Shopping.
Scrolling.

All of these urgent things add up, and they don’t give much back.

Meanwhile, the important things take a back seat and remain undone, either because we are avoiding them, or because we are restlessly bouncing from one seemingly urgent thing to the next.

The important things, the things that drive the biggest movers in our life, wait.

If we could see more clearly, if we could focus, if we could truly understand what is important, and not be:
Restless.
Controlling.
Perfecting.
Pleasing.
Worried.
Needing things done our way… We might focus on the important and do that instead.

But still, the calling of the 80 keeps coming.

The Gift and Opportunity

Pareto’s Principle states that 20% of the work yields 80% of the results. That’s an ROI worth paying attention to.

In any given organization or structure, 20% of the workers produce 80% of the results.
In the natural world, 20% of predators account for 80% of the kills.
This pattern holds true across business and biological systems alike.
It holds true in our personal and professional lives too.

20% percent of what we do moves 80% of what actually needs to get done.
That 20% represents the important.
The remaining 80% represents the urgent and that 80% only returns 20% of the results. Not a good ROI.

We focus on the 80% because it feels pressing, because there is so much of it, and because it demands our attention. But it does not move the big boulders. It moves small stones.

When we are able to identify what is important (20%) and focus our attention and effort there, we experience an outsized return on our time and energy. We move the big levers in our lives.

This reduces stress and increases performance because we are moving large boulders instead of endlessly rearranging gravel.

We should understand the ROI for our time and effort, and yet, day after day, we default to the 80% that gives very little back.

If we audit how we spend our time, and where our attention actually goes, we can create much shorter to do lists. Lists that are focused on what matters.

Mind the 20%.

The Practice of Self-Mastery

• Make a daily to do list with no more than three items

• Set a timer for every 20 minutes — when it goes off, stop and ask: Is what I’m doing right now important, or just urgent?

• If it is not important, stop, redirect

• Guard your time with ruthless scrutiny