Header

To change our lives, we have to make things easier on ourselves – we have to achieve decisive change, but without superhuman effort. This is where the 80/20 way is so different and so much more effective. To discover the ins and outs of  80/20 living, read on.

Regards,

Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants

LIVING THE 80/20 WAY

Work Less, Worry Less, Succeed More, Enjoy More
by Richard Koch

“Contrary to common opinion, less is more. Only by concentrating on the few important and vital things, and refusing to worry over the mass of trivial ones, can we find happiness. Only by doing less can we live more. Only by insisting on more with less can we fulfill our individual destiny.”                             

- Richard Koch

Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
 ISBN 1857883314

Living The 80/20 Way
Work Less, Worry Less, Succeed More, Enjoy MoreBook Review

By doing less, you can actually end up achieving more. The key is to make sure you’re doing less of what adds only marginal value and focus instead on doing better whatever generates the majority of the value you add. In practice, the best way to achieve this is to work backwards from where you want to end up. First, describe your destination. Next, figure out your 80/20 route possibilities. Finally, get into action – do the very few things which will help you achieve more with less effort than you ever thought possible.


THE UNDERLYING 80/20 PRINCIPLES AND LAWS

The 80/20 principle (a.k.a. “Pareto Principle”) states in every field of human endeavor, a mathematical relationship holds true under which 20 percent of the items provide 80 percent of the value. High performers achieve that status by focusing more intensively on the key 20 percent activities which allows them to achieve spectacular results with less effort, not more.

This principle may seem counterintuitive at first glance, since we are programmed to have a sense of fairness. However, the 80/20 relationship has been shown to exist right across the board in all human activities, and in virtually every aspect of life. There are always a smaller number of powerful forces and a larger number of less important ones. The 80/20 principle underpins and leads to two universal laws: The Law of Focus and The Law of Progress.

The law of focus states: “Less is more”, which is contrary to the “more is more” philosophy that is typically applied to our modern work and living habits. The law of progress states: “We can create more with less.” All of human history and the advancement of civilization involves getting more results with less resources.

The paradox, however, is that these two laws have not been consistently applied in the organization of private and social lives. The usual reaction to a call for greater personal productivity is to attempt to do more of what is already being done. Perhaps a better approach would be to pause and identify which specific activities generate a disproportionate amount of results, and then find ways to do more of those things alone.

Personal time management is probably one of the best examples of the power of the 80/20 principle. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll probably agree 80 percent of what you achieve at work takes just 20 percent of your time. When you realize that, it becomes clear there really is no such thing as “too little time”. Instead, you need to organize yourself to stay in your most productive zone for as long as possible.

Some ideas for getting into this zone more often and more consistently:

  • Look for your own personal “achievement islands” – those times when you’ve come up with a great new idea.

  • When doing your day-to-day tasks, engage your mind in creative thinking – by pondering questions like: “How can I build an income and a career around my personal interests and passions?”

  • Throw away your “To Do” list and develop your own “Not To Do” list – or in other words, act less and think more. Be prepared to make your key decisions in a relaxed and thoughtful state rather than in a blind rush of trying to fit more activities into your calendar.

These ideas are revolutionary rather than evolutionary. Instead of trying to manage your time, slow down, stop worrying and try to do the important things well rather than attempting to cram more and more activity into each day.

If you try to live in the present moment, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, you will also achieve more. Be proud of what you’ve achieved in the past, and optimistic about the future, but live fully in the present moment.

“It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.”
– Warren Buffett
 

USING 80/20 PRINCIPLES TO MAKE A LIFE AND A LIVING

There are five key areas in your life where the 80/20 principle and the laws of focus and progress can and should be applied in order to enhance your personal productivity.

1. Self

Everyone who is a great success is focused. Focus means to do less. It means to subtract from your life everything that is not genuinely you and narrow your interests while at the same time deepening and intensifying what you do well. By focusing, you enhance your individuality and become more rather than less distinctive. The three step process for making dramatic improvements to any part of your life is:

1.   Specify your 80/20 destination – where you want to be and what you want to achieve.

2.   Find the best 80/20 route to your destination – something that is elegant and relatively easy to do.

3.   Take 80/20 action – when you know your 80/20 destination and have your 80/20 route clearly in mind, you’re then in a position to move.

“It’s a funny thing about life–if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”
– Somerset Maugham

2. Work and Success

If you stop and look at the lives of star performers in any field, you’ll soon notice that they attempt to change the world around them through ideas and passion rather than with sweat and tears. They spend time on what matters most, the few essentials where they can make a big difference and where leadership can pay big dividends.

The 80/20 principle offers a way for you to emulate what high performers already know and do to enjoy work and success.

1.   Focus on your 80/20 destination – the one thing that you need to get from your work to feel genuinely happy.

2.   Look for an 80/20 route to your destination in this area – one way which will deliver impressively greater results for less effort on your part.

3.   Take 80/20 action – perhaps by working out three specific 80/20 actions you can take to get started moving along the 80/20 route you’ve specified.

“It’s true hard work never killed anyone, but I figure, why take the chance?”
– Ronald Reagan

3. Money

Attempting to constantly make more money can be a trap for the unwary. Some people get so busy earning enough money they never have a chance to step back and really enjoy the fruits of their labors. They trade their time and energy for money in an effort which expands and then ultimately consumes their life. The paradox, however, is that beyond a certain point, more money doesn’t deliver more happiness. The 80/20 way to benefit from money is:

1.   Write down your 80/20 destination when it comes to money – what’s most important to you. Remember, money is only a means to an end, so you’ve got to be specific here.

2.   Find your 80/20 route – which invariably will involve saving and then investing in the easiest possible way. At the very least, you should be aiming to save and invest 10-percent of your income.

3.   Take 80/20 action – that is, don’t just look at this as a good idea you should get around to some stage in the future, but actually put in place an automatic deduction of 10-percent of your income into a savings account.

“Money is for freedom, not slavery; for security, not worry. Unless money is used to give you greater freedom and happiness, accumulating money is a burden.”
– Richard Koch

4. Personal Relationships

Modern life is making it increasingly difficult to develop, nurture and sustain personal and family relationships. To compensate, many people are opting for more low-quality relationships and less high-quality relationships. More and more families now outsource activities which used to be knit into the fabric of the family relationship – babysitting, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the sick and elderly, etc.

The 80/20 way to building strong relationships with your family and friends is:

1.   Focus on your 80/20 destination – what you specifically want to derive from your personal relationships.

2.   Decide on your 80/20 route or routes – how you can build better relationships for less time and less effort.

3.   Take 80/20 action – write down what the three most important things you can do are and when you’ll do them.

“We need other people to be truly ourselves.”
– Carl Gustav Jung

5. Simple, good life

Modern society has raised the assumption that success is a matter of having more money to an art form. To escape from this more-and-more treadmill, stop and think. How much stuff do you genuinely need to be happy?

Stop comparing yourself with others and think about what’s economical, simple and satisfying from a personal point of view. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised to realize you don’t actually need more possessions but less. Be content with what you already have instead of comparing yourself to others. Above all, have a “less is more” mentality. The 80/20 way to the simple, good life is:

1.   Focus on your 80/20 destination – what the concept of a simple, good life actually means to you.

2.   Develop your 80/20 routes – find options that are simultaneously simpler and better.

3.   Take 80/20 action – decide on at least three immediate steps you can take to move towards your destination and then specify the date on which you will get started.

 “Luxurious food and drinks do not produce freedom from harm or a healthy condition. We must regard wealth beyond what is natural as no more use than water to a container that is full to overflowing.”
– Epicurus, Greek philosopher


DEVELOPING YOUR PERSONALIZED 80/20 PLAN

In the final analysis, the 80/20 principle will only make a change in your life when you get into action and do things differently. It’s not what you know but what you do that counts. To put the 80/20 principle to work in your own life, develop a written action plan detailing how you’ll apply this principle in the five key areas of your life.

Probably the best way to bring everything together and to ensure you start behaving differently is to create a plan of action as shown in the link below. Having everything together in the one place and prioritized allows you to get your actions sequenced appropriately. Doing this on a consistent basis also positions yourself in the best way possible to put the 80/20 principle to work. It really comes down to your ability to reflect and then act intelligently.

Follow this link to view The 80/20 Action Plan

 

Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants are recognized as one of North Americas leading authorities in Telecommunications. Our consultants are dedicated to helping businesses save money, add security and improve efficiencies.

Copyright © Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants  All rights reserved.  |  Privacy Policy