Welcome back to the How to Free up Time series. I trust you have prepared your activities list and have it nearby.
Before I explain the reason I had you prepare that list, I would like to introduce a concept from an Italian economist and farmer named Vilfredo Pareto.
In the early 1900’s, Pareto introduced what is commonly referred to as the 80-20 rule, or the Pareto Principle. As a farmer, Pareto noticed that eighty percent of the peas from his farm were coming from a mere twenty percent of his pea pods. Upon further examination, he observed that in the Italian economy, eighty percent of the country’s wealth was held by twenty percent of the population’s individuals.
When this principle is applied to, for example, a sales situation, it is fair to infer that eighty percent of a salespersons income would come from the top twenty percent of their clients. Therefore, as an individual eighty percent of your most productive work is completed in twenty percent of your time.
This begs the question: how much is your time worth to you? I had you make the list of your activities to help you answer this question. The list is designed to help you determine if you are doing the things you need to be doing or whether you are doing things that you should not be doing.
My challenge to you this time:
Revisit your list and reorganize your list in terms of priority, and be sure to check in again for how to take the proper steps to achieve the extra time in life that you desire.
