Learn about the power of the Pareto principle and how it can help you get organized.
Pareto is a rule of thumb that says 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. You’ll learn how to get organized by organizing the most important things first.
STEP 1: Identify your most important activities
Identify your most important activities. The easiest way to do this is to look at what you spend your time doing.
For example, you might find that you spend a lot of time reading articles online, and that you have a lot of unread books on your shelf. This means you should organize your books in order to make it easy to find a book when you want to read one.
Another example would be that you’re always looking at your phone. This means that you should be putting away your phone in order to make it easier to focus on your writing.
STEP 2: Set up systems that allow you to get organized
Once you’ve identified your most important activities, you can set up systems that will allow you to accomplish these tasks more efficiently.
Here are a few examples:
– Create a spreadsheet to track your time.
– Have a dedicated notebook for ideas and to jot down thoughts.
– Keep all of your writing projects in a folder.
– Put all of your books in a separate area of your home.
– Store your unread books in a box so that they’re easy to find.
– If you use a digital calendar, put your most important events on it so that they’re easier to see.
STEP 3: Use the Pareto principle to prioritize your activities
The Pareto principle is the basis for the 80/20 rule. It says that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes.
Here’s an example:
You spend 40 hours per week at work. The remaining 8 hours are used for personal activities.
The 80/20 rule says that 20% of the results come from 80% of the causes.
In this case, 20% of the results come from 80% of the causes – so the 20% that you spend time on personal activities is a bigger part of the results than the 40 hours you spend at work.
This means that if you were to take a snapshot of your activities at the end of the week, the 20% of the results that comes from 80% of the causes are the things that you should be spending more time on.
STEP 4: Use the Pareto principle to prioritize your priorities
The Pareto principle can also help you prioritize your activities.
Once you identify your most important activities, you can look at what you’re spending your time on. This can help you determine which of your priorities deserve your attention.
In other words, you can use the Pareto principle to determine which activities are the most important for your business.
Here’s an example:
You spend 80 hours per week at work. You spend 20 hours on personal activities.
The Pareto principle says that 20% of the results come from 80% of the causes.
This means that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes – so the 20% that you spend time on personal activities is a bigger part of the results than the 80 hours you spend at work.
This means that your time is being spent on the most important activities.
STEP 5: Prioritize your priorities
Once you know what your priorities are, you can prioritize them. This helps you figure out what to focus on next.
Here’s an example:
You spend 80 hours per week at work. You spend 20 hours on personal activities.
The Pareto principle says that 20% of the results come from 80% of the causes.
This means that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes – so the 20% that you spend time on personal activities is a bigger part of the results than the 80 hours you spend at work.
This means that your time is being spent on the most important activities.
STEP 6: Take action on your priorities
Once you know what your priorities are, you can start taking action.
Here’s an example:
You spend 80 hours per week at work. You spend 20 hours on personal activities.
The Pareto principle says that 20% of the results come from 80% of the causes.
This means that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes – so the 20% that you spend time on personal activities is a bigger part of the results than the 80 hours you spend at work.
This means that your time is being spent on the most important activities.
I hope this post helps you to get organized and prioritize your time better.