The problem with the 80/20 rule

Christian Klang
Jul 30, 2017 · 3 min read

Wikipedia says:

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

Vilfredo Pareto found out in 1896 that 20% of the Italian land is owned by only 20% of its population. Today, the 80/20 rule can be observed in so many things like:

  • 20% of your working time causes 80% of the results
  • 80% of the company’s profits come from only 20% of its products
  • 20% of your daily events cause 80% of your stress
Which effect has the highest leverage? (image: Pexels.com)

Sometimes it is even 90/10 or 95/5. The point is, not all our efforts cause the same effects. Some activities we do are more important than others. And some problems cause the most of your stress.

Some people say this rule tells us when it’s getting tough, it’s totally normal: Because the remaining 20% of perfection comes with 80% of its efforts. Of course, you can see it that way. But what is perfection? I think there is no perfect work / life / whatever out there. When we made it to the 80% we are already good. No need to struggle harder when you don’t see the outcome.

The problem with the 80/20 rule — though — is that it is hard to find out which things are more important than others. And how we can eliminate 20% of your effort / costs / stress to create 80% of your work, product, happiness, wellbeing or success. What are the leverages?

Well, this article can’t tell you the secret. In my opinion the 80/20 rule is rather a goal than a state. Finding out what the 20% are should be the goal for every activity you do. This also means constantly improving and self-developing. Here are some things I found out over the past several years:

  • In every research some 20% of the most helpful concepts and content are good for most of the conclusions
  • An agenda, rough overview of the topic and positive attitude already make 80% of a good workshop or facilitation
  • A good structure and several good images make 80% of a fantastic slideshow presentation
  • Several good thoughts make 80% of a Medium article
  • 20% of my Google AdWords keywords make 80% of my ads traffic
  • A good design template and content make 80% of a website
  • Only 20% of my free time really feels like 80% relaxation (the rest is cleaning the apartment or doing random things)
  • And so on…

What are your 20%? Here are some things I do to reach them:

  • Talk to experts and my mastermind group
  • Find good advice on the internet; Looking for professionals and market leaders
  • Prototype my activities and measure the results
  • Have a journal and a stop watch to keep track (no I am not kidding!)
  • Always ask myself “Do you really need to do this?”

I think nothing is worse than ignorantly following a path and hoping for good things to come out. We have to step back and reflect.


I am freelance trainer and currently writing a book about Learning Design. Design Thinking and user-centricism helps me to build better trainings and workshops.

Christian Klang

Written by

I am Learning Designer and just finished my first book about Learning Design. I believe everybody can create amazing learning experiences.

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