In my previous blog post, I talked about applying the 80/20 rule when cleaning out my closet.  This rule (also known as the Pareto Principle) was inspired by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who researched back in in 1906 that 80% of the wealth in Italy was owned by only 20% of the population.  Since then, the rule has been studied and applied to every facet and aspect of life.  Dozens upon dozens of articles, studies, and even books have been written on the subject.

One such book, The 80/20 Principle, was written by Richard Koch (an inventor and entrepreneur).  In it, he details just how much of this rule can be applied to your life to improve success at work and happiness in life.  Here are some of the instances that Koch highlighted to show how applicable and far reaching the rule can be:

• 20% of taxpayers account for 80% of IRS revenue.
• 20% of motorists cause 80% of accidents.
• 20% of those who marry comprise 80% of the divorce statistics.
• 20% of your work activity is responsible for 80% of your productivity on the job.
• 20% of your leisure activities account for 80% of your happiness.

The last two are the ones that truly resonated with me.  I’ve become slightly obsessed with the Pareto Principle, and thus have become obsessed with applying it to as many aspects of my life as possible.  These are the examples that I have noticed:

• In my experience as a Sales Rep (prior to working for Sixthman), 80% of my commissions came from 20% of my clients.  I spent the majority of my time chasing around clients who barely bought anything from me.  The 20% that contributed the most profits didn’t require chasing.
• My iTunes playlist! 80% of the time, I’m only listening to 20% of the songs on my playlist.
• To stay in shape, only 20% of the time dedicated in the gym produces 80% of the results (the other 80% is diet).

In reading as much as possible about this subject, a few things have become apparent to me.  I often used to spread myself too thin, overworking myself on projects that didn’t show the results comparable to the amount of time and effort I had applied.  If 80% of my productivity and happiness comes from only 20% of the things I do, then I should be doing everything I can to put myself in a position to become as productive, efficient, and effective in those activities.  It comes down to simple mathematics: if you get 80% productivity from doing Activity A verses only 20% productivity from Activity B, an increase in effort for A will cause an increase in productivity 4 TIMES greater than putting the same exact increase in effort into activity B.  The goal is not to “simply do more.”  The goal is to “do more of the right thing.”

So far, I am working towards completely 80/20′ing my closet, my workout routine (in and out of the gym in 40 minutes!), and my work day (a constant process).

What can you “80/20″ in your life?

-Steve