Transcription
There is one characteristic that is common in all humans, that is laziness. Human beings are inherently lazy. It's a universal truth, and you probably know that.
But what you probably did not know is that successful people are lazy as well. I would say they're lazier than most of us. They don't want to work a lot. They usually work on one or two things, but somehow they end up having more money and more success than the majority of people. How is that possible?
Well, one of the reasons is that they understand the 80/20 Rule and apply it to every aspect of their life. This rule was discovered by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, and because of that, it's called the Pareto Principle or 80/20 Rule. According to this rule, 80% of the results come from 20% of the activities that we do.
Have you ever noticed that 80% of the time you're using 20% of the space in your flat? 80% of the time you're wearing 20% of your clothes? 80% of your revenue comes comes from 20% of your customers, etc. Of course, this ratio might change in different situations. It can be 75/25 or 90/10, but what always holds true is that a small percentage always produces the biggest result.
We can apply the 80/20 rule to almost any aspect of our life. For example, if you have a list of 10 tasks to complete today, then two of those tasks will produce results that are bigger than the remaining eight tasks combined. The sad fact is that many of us procrastinate on those two tasks that are the most valuable. Instead, we get busy with the least important eight tasks that contribute very little or nothing.
Take a piece of paper and write down 10 tasks, and then ask yourself this question: If I can only accomplish one of the tasks on that list today, which one task would have the greatest positive impact? Then pick the second most important task. After you complete this exercise, you will have determined the most important 20% that is going to bring the 80% of results. You can do the same exercise with your goals as well.
Let us look at more examples and see how the 80/20 rule can be useful in other aspects of your life.
Applying the 80/20 rule to business. If you are creating a new business or product, there are only a few activities that are very important, such as validating the demand and making sales. But do you know what most people do? They spend days trying to find a name for their business. They spend days designing a logo, and they spend weeks finding an office space. Simply put, they invest 80% of their time in activities that have very small value.
Let me give you another example. Let's say you are tutoring children and helping them do their homework. At the moment, there are four parents who want to hire you. Three of those parents have one kid, and one of them has three kids. If you apply the Pareto Principle, then you should say no to three parents who only have one kid and only work with the parent who has three kids. After all, it doesn't matter if there are three kids or one kid; you're still spending the same amount of time. It makes sense to cut out the parents who have only one kid.
You're probably saying, "Okay, but I have time, so why not work with the other three parents as well?" Yes, you have time, but instead of working with one student at a time, you can start searching for another parent who has three kids. It'll be a little hard to find, but guess what? You have a lot of time since you said no to those three parents.
Applying the 80/20 principle to saving money and paying off debt. Instead of focusing on saving $3 here and there by cutting out the things you love, why not focus on cutting costs on big things, such as negotiating your rent, negotiating your car insurance, and bank fees?
Another example can be about paying off debt. A house is the biggest purchase many people make in their lifetime. By only focusing on this alone, you can save thousands of dollars and pay off your mortgage early. For example, let's say your monthly mortgage payment is $1,200. If you only pay an extra $100 a month, which means instead of $1,200, you now pay $1,300, then you reduce your 30-year mortgage to 25 years. You don't just close your mortgage 5 years earlier; you also save thousands of dollars on interest payments.
Applying the 80/20 rule to dieting. I've seen people become slaves to their calorie counts, agonizing over every bite, weighing every bite of food. They spend 20 minutes in the grocery store reading the back of two identical types of food, deciding if the five calories saved here or there is worth it. This is not an effective use of our time. Here are some big win examples: Cut out liquid calories rather than agonizing over reduced calorie foods that taste bad. Make one change: commit to no soda and liquid calories. Make a rule to eat vegetables every time you have a meal. Do intense exercises that involve big muscle groups, such as your legs.
Finally, I'd like to give one example from my own life. When I was promoting this channel, I was focused on Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. And then one day, I was checking my analytics to see where the viewers came from to watch my videos. After seeing the results, I felt like a complete idiot because a huge percentage of my viewers came from YouTube, and only a tiny percentage came from other platforms. However, I was spending most of my time on those other platforms, which were giving me almost nothing. I decided to cut out all of them and focus on YouTube only.
Sometimes, people who appear to be busy all day but accomplish very little are because are working on tasks that have low value or no value. The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex, but the payoff and rewards for completing them can be tremendous. They have the power to change your whole future.
So, before you begin to work, always ask yourself: Is this task in the top 20% of my activities, or is it in the bottom 80%? And always resist the temptation to clear up small things, for that is the greatest productivity killer. We become so involved in little things, and little things multiply. At the end of the day, you will accomplish nothing if you choose to start your day working on low-value tasks.
I believe that we can apply the 80/20 rule to every part of our life, such as choosing our friends, studying for exams, hiring employees, etc. I hope this video helped you just a little bit. Thanks for watching.