I am finally unbalanced & it's great! The 80/20 rule

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Added: Wed. Nov 10, 2010 11:22pm
Posted in: Self Help

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Well, It has finally happened. I have become unbalanced. Some folks that know me (or think they do) may say that has been true for some time. But now I practice an unbalanced life and it's not a bad thing.

In fact; it is not a bad thing at all.

Let me explain. I really have not gone off the deep end but have been practicing the 80/20 rule.

Simply put, the 80/20 rule states that the relationship between input and output is RARELY IF EVER, balanced.

Here is an example as related to your work: 20 percent of your efforts produce 80 percent of the results. Learning to recognize and then focus on that 20 percent is the key to making the most effective use of your time.

To be a truly positve and productive person, I believe the following list of actions are needed to stay motivated and plugged into the positive Universal force in order to stay in the "flow" of the Universe.

 Here are some 80/20 tips and suggestions for you to try if you wish. Let me know how they work for you.

 1. List unproductive or meaningless activities and eliminate them

Reason: 80% of the activities give only 20% of the value

List and look at all your activities. Only a few of them will give the most value and meaning. Do you really need the rest of them? Eliminate the time wasters and keep the important stuff. Be ruthless; don’t be afraid to say no if you need to.

 

2. Spend most of your time on your most important relationships

Reason: 20% of the relationships gives 80% of the value

From all our relationships, only a small portion of them gives the most value to us. These are the few people with whom you have strong emotional bond. Usually these people are your spouse, your family, and a few close friends. I suggest you spend the majority of your time nurturing these relationships.

 

3. Focus on creating more memorable moments in your relationships

Reason: 20% of the time in a relationship gives 80% of the memories

Well, the figures here are actually more like 5%-95% than 20%-80%. From all the time we spend in our relationships, there are only a few moments which give us unforgettable memories. Focus on making more of these.

 

4. Focus on your strengths

Reason: 20% of your skills give 80% of the returns

The few skills that give you the most returns are your strengths. It’s important to identify them so that you don’t waste time working on things which give you only small return. To be effective, you should do only a few things, the things you are very good at.

 

5. Find your productive “place” and make the most of it

Reason: 20% of your work time gives 80% of the results.

Everyone has a productivity “sweet spot”. Some people are most productive in the morning while some others are most productive in the evening. Maybe you work best alone, while others are most productive when they have some background noise. Whatever the time or condition is, try to identify yours and make the most of it.

 

6. Stop reading everything

Reason: 20% of the stuff you read gives 80% of the value

Some books (and/or blogs) give you much more value than the others, so they deserve more time and attention. These are the few sources which could significantly improve your life. While for most books it is enough to read them just once, you should reread the important ones until you can effectively apply their lessons.

 

7. Learn to skim content

Reason: 20% of the content of a book gives 80% of the value

This is important if you love to read. There are so many interesting books to learn from and yet so little time. What I suggest. is identify the critical parts of a book which make its top 20%, read it, highlight and skim the rest. If you want to read it again, read only the highlighted portion and your brain (which has skimmed the rest the first time) will automatically fill in the blanks.(Try it, it works)

 

8. Pack unused stuff, donate it or simply throw it away

Reason: 20% of the stuff is used 80% of the time

Only a small portion of the stuff you have is used often. The majority of it is rarely used, if ever. While you do need some of it to anticipate certain situations (for example, a first aid kit), most of it is practically useless. So identify the useless stuff and pack it in labeled boxes or – even better – donate it to a charity and write it off your taxes. As a last resort to get organized, you can simply throw it away.

 

9. Focus your saving effort on the really big stuff

Reason: 20% of the categories makes 80% of the expenses

While trying to reduce your expenses on the small expense categories is good, you will get the most results if you focus your effort on the major categories. Write your expenses down, see where you spend the most and eliminate those expenses.

 That is it!

Until you get "More from Les", stay plugged into the Positve!

 Les