The Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule

On some occasion, surely you have noticed that certain people manage to do things that seem very difficult and also in record time.

So you will know someone who, working a few hours a day, earns a lot of money or who obtains academic results investing little time in the study; or that in addition to studying he works with a much higher performance compared to his colleagues and only dedicating two or three hours to study (not including weekends).

The Pareto Principle: a trick to understand success and failure

How do they get it? What's the trick? You should know one thing: you too can do the same as them, in what way? Well, by applying the Pareto principle.

The name of this method is due to Vilfredo Pareto, economist and sociologist of the 20th century. In Italy, at that time, 20% of the population accounted for 80% of the economic capital. This same phenomenon can be extrapolated, at present, to the rest of the world, however the pattern remains the same: few hoard a lot while most have very little.

An example to understand the 80/20 rule

I am going to explain my personal experience applying this system. Previously, I spent a huge amount of time at work and the only drawback was not only the hours invested, but also the effort involved. It could be said that I was the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave, I had no choice but to spend nights and weekends working.

Despite my great daily effort, I did not stand out in terms of merits. The merit was obtained by others who apparently worked much less. This It caused me enormous frustration, I told myself that I was not trying hard enough but then even if I tried much more, if possible, the same thing happened, just like in the myth of sisyphus, this one carried a rock to the top of the mountain so that just almost upon arrival, it will roll down having to climb it again every day one after another.

At that moment I realized that something was wrong.. It couldn't be that using all that time and effort he wouldn't get the same achievements as other classmates, even though he was just as intelligent. I thought, there is something that I have to change, and so it was, I began to look at this group of people. I started looking at how they did things and comparing it to the way I did them. These people did exclusively what they should, but not only this, but they also did it as it should. They did things well, efficiently.

However, I did it exactly the other way around. I exceeded what I had to do and consequently what I had to do I did not do as it should. For example, when writing a report, he would add innumerable details and embellish it so that it was pleasant to read. I noticed that this group of people did just the opposite, they stuck to writing down what was strictly necessary without frills or frills in a way that saved effort and time.

I would like to continue with many more examples but this way would never end. However, I do want to add that by applying the Pareto Principle my situation changed 180 degrees. In this way I introduced myself into this group of privileged people. The Pareto Principle is not exclusively applicable to the workplace, but it is also useful in studies and in many other areas of our lives.

What exactly is the Pareto Principle?

This principle is also known as the “sparseness factor principle” or the “80/20 rule”. It is not that the 80/20 rule applies on all occasions, sometimes it can vary to 90/10 or 70/30... In any case, we will take the reference of 80/20.

This is: 20% of what you use generates 80% of what you get and in the opposite sense, 80% of what you invest generates only 20%.

For example: with my neighborhood friends I played basketball, I took it very seriously, I wanted to be the best at playing, I trained very hard, I even spent extra hours alone. However, it was others who scored baskets and were successful. I worked hard, ran non-stop, stole balls and made masterful passes, I wasn't a bad player, quite the opposite, one would say that my level went beyond that of a neighborhood team. But despite everything, it was others who received ovations and always based on the goals scored.

It happened that 80% of what I did when preparing was exclusively related to possession of the ball, assisting teammates and physical fitness. And what did he get? Well, 20% of success. Because? Well, because he didn't make baskets.

The difference between the herd personality and the leader

How did that person or pair do to lead the team and take the laurels? They weren't running too hard and they weren't pushing 120% like I did when training. However, they made baskets and, ultimately, it was the score on the scoreboard that determines victory in a competition. I am not here to refer to be selfish and to hoard the ball even if this means missing a basket opportunity by not wanting to pass the ball. What I want to say is I was not concentrating on what produced the results I wanted. I almost always thought about making good passes but not about being the one to score the basket, and although making good passes is not a bad thing, I didn't get what I wanted that way.

To finish I will say that In the last seasons that I played, I had immensely more fun than in all the previous ones and I also became the player who scored the most goals. Not because I was the best of all, but because I thought about making baskets and that was where I concentrated my efforts. Not that he scored them all, but he did score a good number of points during each game. I didn't focus on running more than the others or on making the maximum number of passes, but simply on looking for good positions to shoot. If he saw an opportunity he would go for it to the maximum. And so, running less, making fewer passes and getting much less tired, I got better results.

Everyday examples of the 80/20 principle

• You use only 20% of the functions of your smartphone, the remaining 80% is there but you don't use it.
• You invest 80% in browsing the Internet and obtain 20% of the information that interests you or that you were unaware of. Only 20% of your dedicated time is useful.
• You only eat sweets before training because you think it's the fastest way to ingest carbs and therefore energy, but after a short time this energy has vanished, you feel tired and you must eat sweets again. According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of the cupcakes you eat only gives you 20% of the energy you need (80/20).
• You invest 80% of your salary in buying new clothes and 20% of your closet is what you use to dress yourself.
• When having a beer, 20% of what you drink is used for something, the remaining 80% is discarded by your body. It would surely be better to apply a ratio of 95/5.

Making the most of the Pareto Principle in your studies

• If by meeting with the teacher you manage to solve doubts while you make yourself known, thus demonstrating interest in the subject... Why don't you go do it?
• If in class they recommend 10 books from which you can obtain the necessary information to obtain the maximum grade in one subject, but you know that in two All the information to pass said subject can be found in them. Focus only on these two and if you have extra time, use it on the others.
• If you spend 4 hours running and lifting weights each week, then you have enough to stay fit and feel agile. Why not do it instead of joining the gym, going to the pool and taking complex vitamins? Get the idea that in addition to the time you dedicate to the gym and the pool, you are spending a lot of time going there and then coming back, this means 8 hours a week. This is what we mean.
• 80% of the grade in an exam depends on a written text that you must present, and 20% of the grade results from the four books recommended in the bibliography of the subject. Do not focus your efforts so much on the books and dedicate yourself more to the document.
• If you are going to invest your money in an item of clothing that you are probably not going to use almost ever, for whatever reason, why invest your money this way?

How to properly apply this maxim?

As we have seen, the Pareto Principle It is something similar to the law of least effort.. It allows us to focus our efforts on what is really productive for us; It helps us optimize our time and resources.

there they go three extra tips to correctly apply this principle:

• Observe carefully how others do it to achieve those excellent results.
• Look inside yourself, notice what gives you a good result, focus your efforts on this point and do without everything else.
• Practice! Put into practice what works for others and likewise do the same with what works for you.

Now you just have to wait for the results to come by themselves applying this 80/20 rule!