Life Hacking With The 80/20 Principle

The 80/20 Principle...

This is a principle that most people are familiar with, yet few actually apply.

The 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Principle, is named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto came up with this principle when he observed that approximately 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; as well as observing that 20% of the peapods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

This is why the 80/20 principle is also known as the law of the vital few. It’s the phenomenon that the vast majority of effects are due to a small percentage of causes.

And this phenomenon applies to all aspects of life! Understanding and applying the 80/20 principle is like a life hack for success in anything.

Here are some business examples...

Let’s say 80% of profits come from 20% of products/services. In knowing this, you can focus more on that 20% and multiply your profits. Maybe 80% of complaints come from 20% of customers. You might want to market to a different demographic besides that 20%. Maybe 80% of growth comes from 20% of actions taken. Focus on that 20% and increase growth exponentially.

Here are some personal examples...

Maybe 80% of your happiness (which is hard to measure, but you can still apply this principle) comes from 20% of your activities. Maybe 80% of your workout results come from 20% of your workouts. Maybe 80% of your wasted time comes from 20% of activities (cough tv and social media cough).

By understanding and applying the 80/20 principle, you’ll be able to simplify, get more of what you want and less of what you don’t.

Thanks for reading. And follow me for more thought-provoking content.

Stephen Parato

PS - Isn't it funny that my last name, Parato, is remarkably similar to Pareto?