Source: Carlos Muza/Unsplash
Cowritten by Tchiki Davis & Eser Yilmaz
Most of us have been told that the key to success is hard work, may it be in our education, careers, or relationships. But have you ever wondered why you sometimes get mediocre results despite putting so much of your time and effort into achieving something? Your immediate instinct might be to work even harder and dedicate more of your time and resources to your task. On the surface, this reaction makes sense; the harder you try, the more likely you will achieve your goal. But, it turns out, the key to success isn’t working harder, but working smarter.
The 80–20 rule states that the minority of causes have the most impact, whereas the majority have the least. The values of 80 percent and 20 percent aren’t exact values—it could be 70–30 or even 95–5. In other words, a few of the things we do have a huge impact while most of the things we do have very little impact. By focusing our efforts on the things that have a big impact, we can save time and achieve more.
80–20 Rule Examples
Have you ever driven by a construction site or walked into an office and observed that a few employees were absorbed in their tasks and working diligently while others were just idling around? You might have just seen the 80–20 rule at work, literally and figuratively. According to this rule, 20 percent of employees produce 80 percent of the work output, while the remaining majority produce only 20 percent (Koch, 2011).
In another example, approximately 20 percent of a company’s products might be responsible for 80 percent of its sales (Koch, 2011).
Eighty percent of the company’s sales might involve 20 percent of its customers (Koch, 2011).
In relationships, 20 percent of the people you interact with might cause 80 percent of arguments.
How to Use the 80–20 Rule
One of the most important things for using the 80–20 rule is to stop doing activities that waste your time. The 80–20 rule can help you determine the actions that waste most of your time, so you can reduce or eliminate them from your schedule and reclaim your lost hours and use them for activities that matter more to you or help you achieve your goals.
Thus, according to the 80–20 rule, one of the best ways to become more productive is to figure out and eliminate the most unproductive activities on your schedule and prioritize the most effective activities.
One method to figure out what to prioritize is by making a list of all activities you aim to tackle that day. Next, you can sort them in order of importance or value. Then you might start tackling them by spending most of your effort completing the vital few activities on top of your list. That way, even if you don’t finish everything on your list, you might still feel productive and accomplished by getting the most important tasks done well.
A version of this article also appears on The Berkeley Well-Being Institute website.
References
Koch, R. (2011). The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less: Updated 20th anniversary edition of the productivity and business classic. Hachette UK.
FAQs
You can use the 80/20 rule to prioritize the tasks that you need to get done during the day. The idea is that out of your entire task list, completing 20% of those tasks will result in 80% of the impact you can create for that day.
How do you use the 80/20 rule to set goals? ›
You can use the 80/20 rule to prioritize the tasks that you need to get done during the day. The idea is that out of your entire task list, completing 20% of those tasks will result in 80% of the impact you can create for that day.
How do you use the 80-20 rule example? ›
To set goals with the 80-20 rule, you primarily establish that 20% of your efforts/tasks will result in 80% of your results. For example, at work, 20% of the effort you put into your job will result in 80% of your tasks being completed/successful.
What is the 80-20 rule for success? ›
Key Takeaways. The 80-20 rule maintains that 80% of outcomes comes from 20% of causes. The 80-20 rule prioritizes the 20% of factors that will produce the best results. A principle of the 80-20 rule is to identify an entity's best assets and use them efficiently to create maximum value.
What is the 80-20 rule for smart goals? ›
According to this principle: 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results. It can change the way you set goals forever. If you have a list of ten items to accomplish, two of those items will turn out to be worth more than the other eight items put together.
What is the 80-20 rule for dummies? ›
This rule suggests that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. For example, 80% of a company's revenue may come from 20% of its customers, or 80% of a person's productivity may come from 20% of their work. This principle can be applied to many areas, including productivity for small business owners.
What is the most productive way to apply the 80-20 rule? ›
Prioritize the first 20% of your workday regarding the tasks you complete and know when it's time to pivot and make changes when working on the remaining 80% to ensure you don't waste too much productive time and energy.
How do you visualize the 80-20 rule? ›
The Pareto chart is a visual representation of the 80-20 rule, featuring a bar + line chart. The bars represent the value of each item on your list (arranged in descending order), and the line indicates the cumulative percentage of those values.
How do you start the 80-20 rule? ›
The 80/20 rule is a guide for your everyday diet—eat nutritious foods 80 percent of the time and have a serving of your favorite treat with the other 20 percent. For the “80 percent” part of the plan, focus on drinking lots of water and eating nutritious foods that include: Whole grains. Fruits and vegetables.
What is 80-20 rule instructions? ›
In simplest terms, about 80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of activities. Just a small number of tasks account for the majority of progress. The key then is to identify those key areas and focus energy there. This 80/20 rule has permeated time management literature and talks; it's honestly not a new idea.
Simply put, the 80/20 rule states that the relationship between input and output is rarely, if ever, balanced. When applied to work, it means that approximately 20 percent of your efforts produce 80 percent of the results.
What is the 80-20 perfect enough rule? ›
The basic idea is 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. So in theory if you focus 20% of resources correctly, you can get 80% of the results you need. You reach 'good enough' and can be much more cost-effective, instead of using 80% more resources stretching to a 'perfect' 100%.
What is the best chart to show 80-20 rule? ›
The Pareto Chart is a very powerful tool for showing the relative importance of problems. It contains both bars and lines, where individual values are represented in descending order by bars, and the cumulative total of the sample is represented by the curved line.
What is the 80-20 rule real examples? ›
80% of crimes are committed by 20% of criminals. 80% of sales are from 20% of clients. 80% of project value is achieved with the first 20% of effort. 80% of your knowledge is used 20% of the time.
How do you use the 80-20 rule to make decisions? ›
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. If you want to make a real difference in your business, you need to spend the most amount of time focusing on the 20% of things that will give you 80% of your results—and less time worrying about everything else.
How can the 80-20 rule be applied to life? ›
This can be applied in many different aspects of your life including your work. For example, if 20% of your tasks are bringing 80% of your project results, you can consider making those specific tasks your priority. You can also keep in mind the 80% you can discard, rethink, or transfer to make your life easier.
How can you use the 80/20 rule to unlock success and maximize your impact? ›
Use the 80/20 Rule: The 80/20 rule suggests that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Apply this rule to your goals by focusing on the 20% of goals that will have the most significant impact on your life. This will help you avoid spreading yourself too thin and increase your chances of success.
What is the first step you should take in applying the 80-20 rule to time management *? ›
The first step to use the 80/20 rule for time management is to identify the 20% of tasks that produce the most value for your goals.
