How to Use Pareto Principle, 80/20, to be Effective in Our Works?

There are too many things to do every day, every year. How do we prioritise our work? How do we make sure that our work can be completed effectively?

Pareto Principle can be used as a tool to analyse our effectiveness. It is also known as the 80/20 Rule. There are several interpretations of this rule. I personally use it from the aspect of "Cause & Effect". Always bear in mind: Something is always more important than others. I always reverse the 80/20 into 20/80, by equating 20% of cause with 80% of effect! These are some of the examples.

• 20% of a company’s customers produce 80% of its revenue 

An effective company will have most of its sales from a small targeted group of quality customers so that it can serve its loyal customers well. As its customers base gets bigger, the number of loyal customers is also getting more, it should continue to focus on the satisfaction of this group of loyal clients.

• 20% of meeting time results in 80% of decisions made 

In a meeting, most decisions are made within 20% of the meeting time. Of course, we are not saying that all meetings should be shortened to 20% of the normal duration. What we should be aware of is that we should make use of the 20% of the "golden time" of the meeting, especially when the attendees are still fresh and enthusiastic, to discuss the most important agendas.

• 20% of items to read on your table produce 80% of info you need 

If you examine the papers on your table, most likely only 20% of them are informative and useful. Throw or store away the junk, just focus on the useful documents.

• 20% of your work time contributes to 80% of success in your job 

You may not agree, but you should focus by spending 20% of your "golden time" in order to ensure that you achieve 80% of the success of your work! This means that you should identify your "golden time" which is unique for each individual, get ready whatever materials you need, prepare well mentally before the golden time, and then just focus and complete the most important part of your job to an extent of 80% satisfaction. You may want to touch up the job further on another time later.

These examples show that we strive towards using our BEST 20% efforts, which I called "golden time" in order to achieve 80% of our targets! Attention is focussed on key issues that have dramatic effects!

What should we do:

• Examine your job scope. Think and decide what is the most important task (80% effect) that has the greatest effect, 
• Think and identify when is your "golden time" (20% cause) when you are most effective, like which period of the day, which day of the week, which period of the year, etc 
• Prioritise so that you use your golden time (20% cause) for the most important task (80% effect) 
• If this practice is effective, make it a routine.