In 1906, an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto noticed that while wandering his garden, 20% of the pea plants in his garden each year produced about 80% of the peas.

This made him think about economic output more broadly, and he noticed that in various industries, societies, and even companies, 80% of production often came from 20% of the most productive labor, becoming known as the "Pareto Principle", or what is often referred to as With the 80/20 principle.

A report published by the Markmanson website stated that with regard to time management, companies often find that 20% of their time achieved 80% of their productivity, and that 20% of their employees achieved 80% of the value.

Over time, the 80/20 principle has become a widespread and widely taught management tool for increasing efficiency and effectiveness within business and industries, and is still widely taught today in broader fields.

According to the site, even when it comes to epidemics, about 20% of infected individuals are responsible for the spread and transmission of 80% of the disease, including sexually transmitted diseases, SARS, and most recently, Covid-19.

The 80/20 Principle has become a widespread and widely taught management tool today (Pixels)

Apply the 80/20 principle

The site noted that despite its widespread use in business, few people believe that the 80/20 principle can be applied to daily life, and that there are many repercussions that it may have;

for example:

  • What 20% of your property has the most value?

  • What do you spend 20% of your time doing that gives you 80% of your happiness?

  • Who are the 20% of the people close to you that make you the happiest?

  • What 20% of the clothes you wear 80% of the time?

  • What is 20% of the food you eat 80% of the time?

The site explains that these are probably easy questions to answer but you just haven't thought of them before, and once you answer them;

You can easily focus on increasing the efficiencies in your life, as it is likely that identifying 20% ​​of the food you eat 80% of the time will indicate if you are sticking to a healthy diet or not.

It's also very likely to bring you 80% of what you have, the site says, emphasizing that the obvious place to start on the 80/20 rule is all those extra things around you.

The site points out another thing in which you can use this principle, which is the time and how you spend it;

Eliminating distractions makes your hours more productive, and to be successful you need to know how to get 80% of your daily work done 20% of the time.

To succeed, you must know how to get 80% of the daily work done 20% of the time (social media)

How do you adopt the 80/20 principle in your life?

The site touched on the changes that you can make based on the 80/20 principle. For example, at work, you should ask: What tasks do we spend 80% of time doing that bring 20% ​​of the revenue?

And vice versa, and in emotional life and relationships we ask: What 20% of behaviors cause 80% of problems?

And what 20% of conversations create 80% of intimacy with a husband or wife?

These are important questions and most of us may not have thought about them. It does not occur to us that there is an efficiency in every aspect of life, in everything we do, and there is not only efficiency, but we have control and influence over that efficiency;

It is something we can take responsibility for and improve.

The report concluded by noting that the 80/20 rule is not necessarily a rigid wisdom to live by, and not everything will go well with it, but it can be thought of as a tool, a lens through which to view aspects of our lives;

Just sitting and thinking about it is likely to open our eyes to realizations that might surprise us.