The Positive Side Of Pareto

The Devil is in the details, right?

So I thought, too.

Over the last few weeks, I have really studied how to narrow down the field of distractions in my life to make a positive change in my life.

Mind you, I’m not removing people or projects.

I am removing the tasks in my life that generate no value other than a loss of time and soul.

Let’s look at a silly example fromt a recent “To Do” list:

“Update To-Do List”

Now, that seems like a valid task, yes? I mean, you must update your list of things to accomplish in order to keep it “orderly”.

It’s redundant!

Of course I need to update my “To Do List”. That’s it’s function for Pete’s sake!

Side bar: Who is Pete? I must Wiki…

Take a strong look at a principle called the Pareto Principle.

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes.

That can be taken in a positive or negative light. Let’s explore the positive first.

Positive Side Of Pareto

Only 20% of your effort can impact 80% of your results, if you are efficient at what you do.

Let me phrase that another way.

“You’ve got to prioritze and use your time toward a small amount of work that will yield the greatest result.”

Let’s break down a project.

In my case, I have some 5K events to plan in the first quarter of 2013.

The typical list of things to do are:

Now out of the tasks you have listed, you’ve got to make a heavy amount of impact.

Take your list and break it down by using a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being mundane but required, 10 being a must for this event to happen).

In my case, the timing equipment rates a ’10’ because if you don’t have it, you don’t have an event.

The same could be said for setting a date.

My “20%” goes toward yielding an 80% results.

The t-shirts are a requirement, but they will come later.

So work on your lists and start to focus on just a few, yet very important tasks and take massive action.

Take massive action TODAY!

In the next post we’ll discuss the Negative Side Of Paleto.

Eric Upton