The Pareto Principle

Today I wanted to talk about the Pareto Principle that works in many contexts from study to business. 

The Pareto Principle, aka the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of output is determined by 20% of input.

Let’s have a look at an analogy to help us better understand this. Imagine a woodcutter preparing to chop down a tree. Rather than rushing into it, he would spend the first few minutes sharpening his axe. 

The 20% of work spent sharpening his axe will drive 80% of the results, i.e. cutting down more trees.

It’s important to work on the right things before working hard otherwise the effort is pretty much futile.

Let’s apply this to our situation of studying. If we spend 20% on effective methods like active recall and spaced repetition, we can get our 80% chunk of good grades. That 20% has the most impact and is the workforce that will power us forward.

So to break this down into small, actionable steps:

1. Identify what 20% of something drives 80% of your results.
2. Allocate time and resources to that 20%.

The Pareto Principle can help us concentrate our time and efforts on the most important areas without fighting for perfection. So the level of quality is almost the same but less time is wasted.

I always remind myself of this concept whenever I’m not getting the results I need. A great way to put it is that there’s no point in being productive if you’re not being productive with the right thing.

So next time you’re not happy with an outcome, scrutinise the situation by asking yourself:

1. What 20% of my work is driving 80% of results?
2. What 80% of my time is being wasted on only 20% of results?