Applying the Pareto Principle Can Improve Your Time Management
Pareto Principle has gained quite a huge popularity in the business field. This principle says that by focusing on 20% of the key success drivers, you can see 80% of the results. In other words, 80% of the results come from just 20% of the causes. For example, 80% of the sales come from 20% of the clients or 80% of the most critical decisions in a meeting are made 20% of the time.
This entails that Pareto Principle can help you set the right priorities and manage your time efficiently. Time management is perhaps a major concern for many, be it business life or personal life. But, if you focus on the activities that have the most impact on your life, you can make the best use of time.
If you aren’t sure how this 80/20 rule can be used for better time management, keep reading the article. Shortly, you will get to know how applying the Pareto principle can help you manage your time.
Pareto Principle
As already mentioned, the Pareto Principle says that 20% of the activities account for 80% of the results. But where did this principle stem from? Back in 1895, Vilfredo Pareto, an economist, noticed that 20% of the population owned 80% of the land. This led Pareto to draw a conclusion that all the economic activities could relate to this principle.
How Does Thins Imply To Time Management?
Pareto Principle works on the theory that most of the success is subject to a few vital tasks that drive the business. The same thing applies to real life too. For example, if you have 10 activities to do, 2 of those activities will turn out to be the most worthwhile effort compared to the other 8. Or, 80% of the output will come from 20% of your time.
However, you don’t have to worry if the figures aren’t exactly 80 or 20. The basic idea is, you need to distribute things evenly. Furthermore, it doesn’t mean that you should work less or reduce your efforts. Instead, the idea is to encourage you to pay attention to the most important things that can help you reach your goals.
Pareto Principle for Time Management Examples
The Pareto Principle seems like a good theory, but it is helpful only if put into practice. While every business can benefit from this principle, industries focusing on product manufacturing or customer services are the ones that take advantage of the Pareto Principle.
Reason? They measure the KPIs constantly and put the principle into use to improve their operations. It doesn’t mean that someone in an HR role or project management can’t benefit from it. It just means that you have to work a bit hard to define your success within the 80/20 rule.
Some examples of the Pareto Principle in business are-
- 20% of the employees account for 80% of the results.
- 20% of the products drive 80% of the sales, etc.
As an employer, these examples can help you make critical business decisions. Not only the CEOs or managers but the employees can also use this principle.
For example, suppose you work as an associate in the content team and find that the review process isn’t going smoothly as it should. Rather than waiting for others to say something, you can create a proposal, point out the problem, and provide solutions in order to manage your project.
You can identify which of the tasks demand the bulk of your focus or what opportunities you can leverage to boost your output. This tactic will not only help you work more efficiently but also turn you into a leader among your colleagues.
What Is Better Time Management?
Effective and productive time management doesn’t mean that you give all your free time or all the time that you make for yourself while relaxing. Instead, it’s about productively doing everything and making things easy to work. Having better time management helps you understand and manage your priorities and eliminate the time wasted to have more control over how you use the Pareto analysis.
Furthermore, the modern methods of time management use various other methods of calculating and measuring time. So that you can have an understanding of barriers to effectively use the time. This way, you are also encouraged to develop short, medium, and long-term goals. That you can give importance to the other urgent tasks.
Various tools that are used to manage time include digital or traditional resources like planners, calendars, and planners. You just need to have discipline and dedication so as to maximize your time and let these tools work.
Time management methods like the Pareto principle give insights into the development of new and improved habits. This can also improve the performance rate and will help you reach your goals more on a regular basis.
The Pareto principle is a time management technique that helps to increase your performance by solving your personal and non-personal problems. This will help to resolve issues so that things can work better and easier.
With this principle in mind, rethink your to-do list: Ideally, it consists of simple items that aren’t important earlier. To make the most of the Pareto principle, to help you better manage the time, prioritize the amount of effort. Create the new rankings of the items and label them from one to ten with the highest impact. Further, those that deliver the highest result with the least effort are first to prioritize.
Conclusion
Pareto Principle is like a lens to keep an eye on your daily workflows. This principle can be used as a wonderful time management strategy to gravitate your attention to the most important tasks or things that account for the best results. Make a list of all your tasks, set your goals, and prioritize the ones based on what you want to accomplish. Know the time when you are most productive, focused, or energetic. And schedule your key priorities during the prime time to make the most out of it.