The 80/20 Principle and Time Management 1 In the early part of the 20th century, an economist named Vilfredo Pareto came up with a mathematical system that explained the unequal share of wealth in society. He determined that in most societies, 80 percent of the wealth is almost always held by 20 percent of the population. When the mathematical system was introduced by Pareto, a number of specialists in other fields noticed that it could be applied to different areas as well. By the 1940s, this system came to be known as the 80/20 principle. 2 Over time, it eventually became what is called a universal principle. In a nutshell, the 80/20 principle states that 20 percent of anything will be important while 80 percent will be insignificant. This principle can be applied to virtually anything, whether it is business, economics, or science. The 80/20 principle always works both ways. If you have a warehouse filled with supplies, 20 percent of it will take up 80 percent of the space. If you are the manager of a sales department, the 80/20 principle should tell you that 80 percent of the sales you make will only come from 20 percent of your employees. 3 When it comes to time management, the 80/20 principle states that you will want to focus on 20 percent of the most important things you need to get done. Of all the tasks you will carry out in a single day, only 20 percent of it will be truly relevant. This means that 80 percent of the things you will do are not as important. Your job is to find the 20 percent of tasks which are the most important. If you find that you are not able to complete all the tasks for a given day, you will want to make sure that these tasks do not belong to the 20 percent of the most important things that you need to get done. 4 It should be easy to see why the 80/20 principle is important for time management. If you compare people who are successful with those who are not, you will often find that the unsuccessful people spent most of their time working on tasks that made up the 80 percent. They didn’t put an emphasis on things that made up the 20 percent, or they didn’t work on them at all. On a personal level, you may be wondering what things make up the 80 percent. The things that make up the 80 percent are dependent on your goals. Generally, they may include watching television, talking on the phone, going to parties or clubs, or doing anything else that is not related to your goals. 5 Tasks that fall under the 20 percent are things that many people usually don’t like doing. However, it is this 20 percent that will play the most important part in your success or failure. Examples of general things which make up the 20 percent are doing taxes, market research, studying, or practice. While these tasks may be boring to many, they are the factors that will play a role in your success or failure. People who are successful will spend most of their time focusing on the 20 percent of things that really matter, and will not place their main energy on things that make up the 80 percent. 6 The 80/20 principle is a simple, yet powerful tool. If you master it, you can apply it to any area of your life. When it comes to time management, you will want to find out the most important things which make up the 20 percent. Once you find them, focus your energy on them. This principle can only work if you focus on the right thing. If you focus on the 80 percent, you will fail every time. Whilst there is virtually no limit to the way the 80/20 principle can be used, it’s necessary to spend time studying where it can be applied in the different areas of your life.