Applying The 80/20 Rule To Your Life

Recently I had the opportunity to network with an awesome group at the Raleigh Momprenuer‘s Illuminate conference.  This group of mom’s provided me with so much inspiration and ideas that I was on mental overload by the time I left.

 

One of the things that really stood out to me was the Ignite Your Passion session taught by Gaye Esser of Redefine Balance. Gaye mentioned the famous Pareto Principle or 80-20 Rule as most of us may know it.  The Pareto Principle is named after an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto.  The Principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. 

 

You may ask why what sounds like a history lesson stood out to me.  Well when Gaye explained it, I realized that not only was this brilliant, I was applying this Principle to many areas of my life already without knowing it. 

 

When I had a desire to get into the wedding industry, I used to spend 80% of my time chasing after brides for that one sale that was only 20% of my revenue.  When I changed my thinking and began marketing to the wedding/event planners which only took about 20% of my time I noticed that I was booking more brides now making up 80% of my revenue.  Because the planners brought me repeat business, I did not have to start over the marketing process with them with each bride, I just had to follow up and be ready.

 

Thinking about the graph to the left you can apply the Principle to many different areas of your life.  These are just a few examples of how I use the Principle in my life:

 

1)   Business –I figured out what 20% of my work load would produce 80% of my revenue. 

 

2)     Meals -Prepping 20% of food to prepare 80% of my families meals for the week.  I plan and prep my meals for the week on Sunday evenings.  It cuts down on my time in the evenings where I would normally be cooking.  Most evenings, I only need to reheat.

 

3)     Clothes for the week – I spend 20% of my time on Sunday getting clothes prepared for the week for the children and myself.  This frees up time in the morning to allow us to have time for a daily devotion before we leave each day.

 

These may seem like very simple things to do, but when you think about your normal day and how much you are trying to accomplish, finding extra time is priceless!

 

Kind Regards,

LaDonna Bethea