The Pareto principle says that 20% of your work produces 80% of your results, and 80% of your work produces only 20% of your results. The key to a more effective and successful life is to filter out the unimportant many (the unproductive 80%) and focus on the important few (the productive 20%).
Here are a few activities that are unimportant and can be eliminated, avoided, or changed:
- Most TV programs: Don't waste your time watching them. Do something useful and important instead.
- Most news: Scan the headlines, but most of the details won't affect your life.
- Most web surfing: It's easy to spend hours on You Tube, Digg, Facebook, but they seldom make a meaningful impact on your life.
- Pointless phone calls and meetings: Avoid phone calls and meetings without agendas - they can go for hours without conclusions or decisions.
- Endless e-mail interruptions: Make it a point to check and respond to email at specific time points only (try 11am and 4pm). You will work much better without interruptions.
For further reading, I recommend:
- The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch.
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.
- First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill.
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