Embracing the 80/20 Principle: Achieving More by Doing Less
It seems as though all the forces in my life have been trying to send me a message.
The message is this: achieve more by doing less.
Recently, I started reading The 80/20 Principle, by Richard Koch. The book has been transformative.
In this week’s issue, I will break down some of the lesson’s I’ve learned from reading this book. I will also explain to you how I am applying these principles to my life and business. Maybe you can do the same.
LFG.
The Full List Of Lessons
Before I give you my insight, there is a particular section of the book I would like to share with you word for word. This section of the book had the biggest impact on me, and these bullets points summarize it well.
You can find the section at the end of Chapter 2, entitled “How To Think 80/20.” They are copied below, directly from the book.
“Application of the 80/20 Principle implies that we should do the following:”
celebrate exceptional productivity, rather than raise average efforts
look for the short cut, rather than run the full course
exercise control over our lives with the least possible effort
be selective, not exhaustive
strive for excellence in few things, rather than good performance in many
delegate or outsource as much as possible in our daily lives and be encouraged rather than penalized by tax systems to do this (use gardeners, car mechanics, decorators, and other specialists to the maximum, instead of doing the work ourselves)
choose our careers and employers with extraordinary care, and if possible, employ others rather than being employed ourselves
only do the thing we are best at and enjoy most
look beneath the normal texture of life to uncover ironies and oddities
in every important sphere, work out where 20 percent of effort can lead to 80 percent of returns
calm down, work less and target a limited number of very valuable goals where the 80/20 principle will work for us, rather than pursuing every available opportunity
make the most of a few “lucky streaks” in our life where we are at our creative peak and the stars line up to guarantee success
Now I will elaborate and give additional insight to the lessons that spoke to me most.
“Exercise control over our lives with the least possible effort”
I have great control over my life.
I am a disciplined person who loves habit, regimen, routine, and consistency. The reason I am successful is not because I am exceptional, but rather because I have made success a habit.
However, my success comes at a high cost. I expend a lot of energy in my quest to be great. Mostly, I expend mental energy.
I think about money, work, fitness, and finance all the time.
When I say all the time, I’m not being hyperbolic. I think about what I am working on almost every second of the day. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I am already thinking about what I need to start working on before the kids wake up.
It’s exhausting and it’s not healthy. More importantly, it’s not useful.
As the 80/20 Principle teaches me, 80% of my success is generated from 20% of my effort. This includes mental effort. I could save myself over 80% of my energy simply by not thinking about most of what I think about. If I simply stop overcomplicating my life, I will come out much further ahead.
I could spend more time with the wife and family, I could go for more afternoon walks. I could read more, or train Muay Thai more, or even hang out with friends. Get this, I could also … relax. *gasp*
There’s no question I have been dedicating too much energy towards my career. I have so much more to give, but in order to live up to my true potential, I need to learn how to live my life while expending the least amount of energy possible.
I’m sure I will quickly learn that the results achieved will not diminish as a result of reducing effort.
“Only do the thing we are best at and enjoy most”
This has a lot to do with why I stepped down from CEO at Stodzy. I haven’t said this out loud to anyone, but the truth is, I was no longer enjoying the day to day at Stodzy.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy the work, I love the work. It’s that my stress levels were compounding.
Every day I felt more stressed than I did the day before. As a result, my work wasn’t coming from a place of pure intention. I was emotionally and spiritually blocked and as such, I wasn’t allocating resources with elegance.
It’s not that I don’t love the company, or the clients, or even the work. I love SEO and I love working with the team. There’s nothing else I would rather be doing.
I think I just got burned out. The reason I got burned out is because I was spending so much time on tasks and assignments that I wasn’t good at.
For instance, I am not good at …
project management
organization
invoicing
customer service
managing customer requests
How could I possibly be the best version of myself when I am spending time and energy on work that doesn’t light me up? We are all our best selves when we are doing what fills us up. When we are sharing the best parts of us is when we contribute the most.
Now is my time to completely channel my energy into doing what I am best at and enjoy the most.
One word. GROWTH.
I love to write and create content. I love to network and find synergies with people and other companies. My skills are best put to use when I’m generating attention towards particular projects I am working on and I have always been good at turning that attention into money.
I thrive when I am constantly “moving onto the next one.” I get a thrill from the sale, the partnerships, the lunch meetings, and the sharing of ideas.
I suppose I never stopped to ask myself, “what would happen if I spent all my time doing what I love and what I’m best at?”
Reading this section of the book gave me the confidence to double down on what my priories have been, ever since I started this emotional exercise of doing less.
My priorities are to …
build my sales team
continue to build and grow my personal brand
find and close more deals
That’s it. As long as I stay true to what I am best at, I can outsource the rest and make more by doing less.
“Calm down, work less and target a limited number of very valuable goals where the 80/20 principle will work for me, rather than pursuing every available opportunity”
Key phrase is “calm down.”
I’ve always tried my best to control what it is I have control over. In most cases, the only thing I can ever control is my actions. To that extent, I might as well give everything my best effort.
That way, if I fail, at least it won’t be because I didn’t try.
I’ve always believed this mentality has reduced my stress and anxiety. For instance, when I took my biggest investment loss (I lost $100,000 from a failed investment in 2021), I didn’t lose a moment of sleep over it.
The reason is because I knew that I did everything I could, and that at the time, the investment seemed logical and was a project I believed in. There was nothing more I could do. I gave it my best effort. What more could I have done?
In my eyes, giving maximum effort is a hedge against regret.
I’m terrified of getting to the end of my life, and feeling like I let myself down because I didn’t try hard enough. I don’t ever want to look back and think “what if?”
But the older I get, the more I am discovering all the ways in which that mentality is counter productive.
Yes, you have to work hard, because everyone works hard. Hard work is the default. But the value I generate from maximum effort has a diminishing return. Inevitably, my brain starts to break down, I get tired, I make bad decisions, and I crash.
It’s entirely possible that working at maximum effort is actually less productive than working at 50% effort. At least with 50% effort, I give myself time and space to think, recalibrate, and analyze.
I believe that in business (and in life) you have to start off strong. When I was 23, I had no choice but to wake up early, stay up late, run hard, sleep light, and get the job done.
But that’s not that case for me anymore. Now, my clarity of thinking is much more important than my intensity of action. Maybe it always has been. Who knows where I would be if I had always lived in the 20%.
It’s time to put my clarity of thought to use. It’s time to use that clarity to generate more results with less effort.
I Need To Be Reminded More Than I Need To Be Taught
At this point, I’m totally convinced that my higher power is pointing me in the direction of less is more. Every book, every lesson, and every realization I’ve encountered over the last 6 months has been about doing less.
It’s like, “ok god, I get the point.”
I know the lesson. I get it and am able to conceptualize it perfectly.
The hard part is continuously reminding myself to act in a way that is aligned with these principles.
In times of stress or urgency, it’s much easier to fall back to what is familiar. I’m much more comfortable forcing my dreams and goals into existence than I am with allowing the spirit of the universe to gently bring my dreams and goals into existence for me.
The lesson is learned.
From this point forward, I am simply reminding myself of the lesson over and over again until it becomes second nature.
I’ll let you know when I get there.
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