The 80/20 Rule

How can you do important things when it seems as if everything needs to be done first?

• Put first things first.
• Work smarter not harder!
• Work purposefully!

In this regard you are well advised to make use of the Pareto principal of prioritising activities and tasks.

In 1895, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto formulated what is now commonly called the Pareto Principle or the "80/20 rule".

Spend more time on the 20% activity of your activities which address 80% of your responsibilities and problems, instead of spending 80% of your time on only 20% of your responsibilities.

Therefore, attend first to those issues that:

• Cover 80% of your responsibilities
• Solve 80% of your problems
• Provide 80% of your profits

While there are exceptions, his principle does seem to apply to all sorts of systems and groups, including your projects and tasks: 80 percent of the total value is typically contained in only 20 percent of the items.

This is also true in time management, because some tasks give you a much higher return on your investment than others.

The key to effective prioritisation is to apply the 80/20 rule and discover the 20 to 30 percent of your projects and tasks that will give you the greatest returns on your effort.

Urgency and Importance

When prioritising, it is important to distinguish between the short-term urgency and long-term importance of your projects and tasks.

Some examples of projects with long-term importance are: completing a product for a major customer, planning and preparation, hiring a project lead, maintaining a good relationship with your customers, spending quality time with your family, regular exercise, and keeping your finances in order.

Some examples of projects with short-term urgency are: completing a document before the product ship deadline, answering your phone, responding to a colleague’s email, dealing with an emergency, travelling to visit a customer or talking to a drop-in visitor at the door.

A key concept in time management is that important things are not always urgent and urgent things are not always important.

Urgent things tend to get a lot of our time and attention, even when they are not all that important, often at the expense of projects with much greater long-term importance.

Have you've heard the saying "the squeaking wheel gets the grease"? Urgent tasks are often very squeaky! As a result, they get more than their fair share of our time and attention.

It takes conscious effort and planning to make time for projects with long-term importance in your schedule and to avoid giving away time to urgent tasks of little importance.

Too Much Urgency

A common problem in time management is having too much urgency, especially when almost everything on your plate is both important and urgent.

This situation is often a symptom of not giving enough time to long-term initiatives and projects when they are not yet urgent and letting the situation deteriorate until they become the latest crisis.

Important projects such as prevention, maintenance, strategising, and relationship building, can reduce or even eliminate many crises before it even occurs.

Just remember that these types of projects are almost never urgent. You must be proactive and make time for them, before they become urgent. Remember that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.