Use The Pareto Principle To Be More Productive-ve

If we pay attention to a phrase from the famous North American military man and politician, who says “there are no secrets to success. This is achieved by preparing, working hard and learning from mistakes ”, the Pareto principle may lose its meaning. So what is right about the law stated by this sociologist, who seems to urge you to achieve your goals through less effort?

While it is true that Vilfredo Federico Pareto, born in Paris but of Italian nationality, enunciated his famous principle more than 100 years ago, there are many who continue to believe in it as if it were a law. . Let’s find out what this principle consists of.

The Pareto principle

The Pareto principle is also known as the 80/20 law. This is because the Italian philosopher and sociologist postulated that 80% of our profits are achieved through 20% effort. And this percentage would be valid for all areas of your life: personal, professional, social success …

So Pareto, who was also known as a great economist in his day, really focused on productivity. You could say that he did not believe in an effort that lasts a very long time (continuous) but in an effort that really offers a good result (selective).

If to speak of the Pareto principle as being a way to achieve success without effort is a great simplification, it is nevertheless true that it highlights something that we sometimes forget: we must look in our world for something that is really productive and focus directly on these tasks at all levels.

Pareto therefore pleaded to reduce our efforts in many parts of life. We just need to strengthen those that generate great profit. Despite everything, despite the simplification of 80/20, it is true that his research led him to postulate that with 15 to 25% of work, one could achieve between 75 and 85% of success.

How to follow the Pareto principle

Obviously, the Pareto principle has clear and real rules. It simply states that 80% of the consequences have their origin in 20% of the causes. The sociologist has discovered singular causes. For example, 20% of the population of a country owns 80% of the total wealth. With this effect and other findings, he postulated that:

• 20% of customers normally generate around 80% of a business’s profit.
• 80% of your personal satisfaction is due to the 20% of the people in your inner circle. These are the ones with whom you share love, friendship, understanding, etc.
• When you exercise, 20% of the activity gives you 80% of the real benefits.

So there is nothing strange about Pareto assuming that 20% of your efforts, well directed, will lead to 80% of your success. On the other hand, if your efforts are poorly managed, even if the percentages remain the same, the levels of success will be much lower.

“The secret to being successful in a man’s life is to prepare to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself”

-Benjamin Disraeli-

How to apply the Pareto principle

Obviously, Vilfredo Pareto, as a sociologist and economist, relied on reality for his research. In this way, he revealed how to take advantage of his principle because, unconsciously, we all put it into practice.

However, not all of us are aware that we are following Pareto’s law. But there are some ways to find out. If you want to practice it in a conscious way, you can pay attention to some points:

• If you delegate the tasks that you do not consider so important, you are applying this law.
• If you do what you love and don’t spend most of the day doing it, chances are you are following this principle as well.
• You do what other people want you to do but spend more time respecting your own desires.
• You work or live on what you really love and with someone you truly love.
• You carry out activities that require a lot of effort but you do not devote all your time to them, only the necessary and adequate time.

“If A is success in life, then A = X + Y + Z. X represents work, Y represents pleasure and Z is keeping your mouth shut”

-Albert Einstein-

As you can see, this particular Pareto principle can have interesting practical applications. While effort and persistence are much needed, this principle indirectly implies a need to allocate time in a meaningful way. Without a doubt, this is a good law that we should apply more in our daily lives. It’s simple and reinforces everything you’re good at: if you manage to optimize that 20%, you’ll see how quickly the results will come.