6 Steps for Using Pareto Time Management Principle

If you have no idea about the 80/20 rule or how you might use it to improve your time management, this article will help you understand all about it. It may be the solution for all the problems you're facing in your life and work. Whether you're an expert or a beginner entrepreneur, you must have at least heard about the 80/20 rule, which is also known as "Pareto Principle". Anyway, you can use this principle in all aspects of your life.

Applying Pareto Principle for time management:

This principle was developed by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1895 when he noticed that approximately 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the population which led him to think that this principle can apply to all sorts of economic activities.

As writer Brian Tracy explained, "This rule states that 20% of your activities will make up 80% of your results". For instance, 20% of your clients will make up 80% of your sales and 20% of your products or services will make up 80% of your profits. Likewise, 20% of your tasks will make up 80% of the value of what you do, and so on."

But how can this apply to time management? "If you have a list of 10 tasks, two of them are more valuable than the rest of the tasks put together,” Tracy says.

In other words, 80% of your productivity should be derived from 20% of your time. Don't worry if the percentages are inaccurate. The idea is that most things are not distributed equally, but that does not mean that you should put in less effort at work, but that you should focus on the most important things, which are the tasks that help us achieve our goals.

As entrepreneurs, we believe that we can do anything independently, but the Pareto principle is the best time management technique we can rely on. For example, instead of spending hours fixing a website, water tap, or responding to clients' inquiries, we can entrust these tasks to someone else while focusing on more important tasks that will help us grow our business.

Now, after clarifying how to use Pareto principle to improve your time management, here are some basic steps to start using it:

1. Rethink your to-do lists:

This might be the right time to change the way you create to-do lists considering this principle. Usually, these lists consist of items that are not of paramount importance. Instead, to-do lists should reflect your priorities considering whether these tasks are worth the effort required to perform them.

In order to make the most of the Pareto principle which will help you manage your time better, start by prioritizing what you need to do based on the amount of effort required. Give these tasks a number from 1 to 10, with 1 representing the task that requires the least amount of effort, and continue in this vein where the task with the number 10 has the greatest impact. Then, think about the possible positive outcomes from doing these things.

With these results, the next step is to create a new order for the items in the to-do list by dividing the amount of effort by the potential outcomes, giving you the priority order you need to manage time more effectively and achieve desired results. Accordingly, you need to accomplish the tasks with the greatest impact that it requires less effort first, and postpone or cancel tasks that have less impact and require more effort.

2. Evaluate tasks and objectives:

Another way is to determine which 20% of your tasks will achieve 80% of the results. You can achieve this by asking questions such as:

• Do I consider all my tasks and functions urgent?
• Do I waste a lot of time on specific tasks?
• Will this assignment help me achieve my goals?
• Am I the most qualified person to get the job done? Or should someone else do it?

After evaluating your tasks, you should evaluate your goals and pay attention to the 20% of your activities that will help you achieve your goal.

For example, you are in the 20% range if you are doing activities that improve your life or relate to your main goal, or if you do the things you enjoy, and entrust someone with the tasks you're not good at.

3. Determine when you are most productive:

There are periods of time when we are more alert, focused, and energetic, as some people are active in the early morning, and others are active at night, so choose the time that suits you.

4. Get rid of distractions:

We are surrounded by distractions, whether it's email notifications, phone calls, guests, or the construction going on near our offices. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, distractions are inevitable. However, we can reduce them by applying the 80/20 rule, where 80% of distractions are said to be the result of 20% of our resources. Create a schedule and write down the frequent distractions for a week or so, then identify the items that interrupt you the most. If emails, phone calls, social media notifications, uninvited guests, and noise are your most frequent distractions, you can eliminate them by turning off all notifications, locking your office door, wearing noise-canceling headphones, or using specialized apps if none of these works.

5. Delegate tasks for little pay:

There are simple tasks that can be delegated to someone else for a pittance, for example, you can hire a personal assistant to bring clothes after washing, or manage your email, and you can outsource the cleaning of your home and office. This can certainly cost you some money, but in return, you can use the time you save to focus on the things that matter most.

6. Make time to rest:

You need a break from time to time. So, take time off from work, go to the beach, spend time with your family, watch your favorite shows, read a book, do whatever you enjoy doing, and remember that doing the things you enjoy is one of the activities that fall into the 20% according to Pareto principle.