Productivity

Pareto Principle

Maximize the impact of your decisions and tasks by identifying and prioritizing the 20% of inputs that generate 80% of outcomes to maximize impact.
Useful when
  • You want to prioritize tasks or activities in order to achieve the most significant results
  • You want to identify and address the root causes of a problem
  • You want to improve efficiency and effectiveness
  • You want to identify the most significant contributors to a specific outcome
About

The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. It is named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

The principle can be applied to many different fields, such as business, economics, and project management, and suggests that a small number of key factors are responsible for the majority of outcomes. This principle can be used to identify and focus on the most important elements of a system in order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness by doing more of the things that matter.

Pareto’s principle is more of an observation than a full-fledged scientific theory. It is commonly noticeable in various contexts, but it does not apply to every scenario.

Examples
Examples

• Socializing – 80% of the value you get from socializing comes from the top 20% of your friends. Preferentially strengthen relationships with those friends.

• Procrastination – 80% of your procrastination comes from 20% of your indulgences. Place those 2-4 top indulgences out of arm’s reach, and you’ll see an outsized gain in weekly output.

• Delegating – Which things should you do yourself, and which ones could be handed over to your team? Focus on the vital 20% and delegate the rest.

• Productivity – 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. To maximize your efficiency, you must identify the most value-producing activities and work on them first.

• Business – 80% of the income comes from 20% of the customers.

• Tools use – 80% of the time, people use 20% of the tools at their disposal.

This framework has
7
questions
Useful when
  • You want to prioritize tasks or activities in order to achieve the most significant results
  • You want to identify and address the root causes of a problem
  • You want to improve efficiency and effectiveness
  • You want to identify the most significant contributors to a specific outcome