Taking advantage of the 80/20 rule

I previously wrote that the Pareto Principle dictates that 20% of yourtime and expenses will drive 80% of your revenues. Focus on that 20% and don’tworry about the rest.

I have 120 itemson my to-do list today.  I can’t possibly do it all. However, 20% of thoseitems are important and will help me meet my goals. I focus on that 20%: 24tasks.  The rest can wait.

So far, I’ve spent$133 on this website. Some of that was wasted on a blogging website that Idecided not to use. Other money was spent to park certain relatedwebsite names for the next five years. 80/20.

It would be niceif we could cut our expenses and time investment by 80%, without losingprofits. But alas, life does not work that way. Rather, we need to continuously review ourinvestments of time and money, and trim away the excess fat.

When I worked at Deloitte,the trainers taught us to use a “C” drawer. All tasks could bedivided into A (do-it-now), B (do it soon), and C (don’t do it until you haveto). Put your C items away.  Don’t dothem until you have to.  

Twenty years afterthat training session, I still keep a “C” drawer in myoffice, all full of long-forgotten tasks that no one ever cared enough tofollow up on.  I occasionally clean it out and marvel at all of the time I saved.