80-20 Rule

The 80-20 rule is a pattern, noticed in many parts of life, where 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of effort. 80 percent of my friends will not read this blog. 20 percent (or 10 percent, or some even smaller percentage) will read every post. 80 percent or even 90 percent of people playing games online will not pay for additional content; 10 to 20 percent will pay for some additional content, and only a small number of people will buy everything available in a game. When you’re cleaning house, 80 percent of the mess is in the kitchen and bathrooms. Cleaning 20 percent of the house, therefore, gets rid of most of the problems.

What this means for workflow is: determine which 20 percent is most vital, and do that first. Most of the job will be taken care of. The other 80 percent probably still needs done… sometime… but it’s not urgent or it’s purely cosmetic or it’s in areas no one will see or care about. If you get to the icing on the cake, good, but prepping the main course is more important. Meals and sleep are the bedrock of home life, followed by getting along with people and wearing clothes. Having glassware and polished silver might be nice, but yogurt cups work as glasses. You will never have time to do everything. Prioritize.