The Pareto Principle - 80% of results come from 20% of the work

People talk about the Pareto principle in all sorts of contexts like work, money, or stress. And although it works across lots of topics, I'm going to spend 2008 focusing it on my work. (Sort of a New Year's resolution goal for myself.)

For reference, the Pareto principle says that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. Applying this to work, that means that 80% of the results come from 20% of the work you do right? Maybe...but does that mean that you don't have to do all the other work too? It could if you know how to pick the right 20% to focus on. This is obviously the hard part.

Everyone in the workforce knows how hard it is to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life. Projects get pushed on you unexpectedly, meetings consume your time, and emails destroy your productivity. But if you just pick the right ones, you could still get nearly the same results without wasting time on the less important stuff. I'm not saying people should blow off everything else, but just prioritize things aggressively based on the impact of the results.

Here are some things to ask yourself when deciding what to do. Remember, it's all about the results.

• What's the purpose or agenda for this meeting? Will decisions be made or is it purely sharing information? What's the result?


• Do I need to attend the meeting? Am I presenting at the meeting?


• What other results could I achieve if I don't attend this meeting?


• Will this help me/my department/the company in a measurable way?


• Will anyone care if this doesn't get done?


• What will this change? How big of an impact will it have?


• Is someone counting on me for this deliverable or information?


• What are the consequences of this not getting done?


• Who will notice these results?


• Is there an easier way to get the same results?

So stopping killing yourself trying to do it all and just pick the most important stuff. Spend the rest of the time enjoying your life.