What Most People Don’t Know About Productivity: The Pareto’s Law
Nowadays, we usually associate productivity with phrases and actions such as time management, efficiency, getting the most done in a certain amount of time, etc. However, the truth may shock you: doing more, being busy isn’t being productive, in fact, it is being lazy.
You may be thinking that this is absurd, I thought the same when I was first introduced to this concept in the book The Four Hour Workweek.
In this article, I will introduce this concept to you while providing my personal experience. At the end, I will provide practical ways to implement this concept into your life.
Efficiency vs Effectiveness
When we think of productivity, we usually think of efficiency, getting the most done. However, being efficient is very different from being effective. Being effective is doing what actually gets you closer to your goals while being efficient is doing something(no matter the importance) in the most economical manner possible. Having this in mind is key, because real productivity is doing what’s effective.
The Pareto’s Law
The Pareto’s Law, also called the 80/20 rule, was first introduced to us by Vilfredo Pareto. The Italian polymath found that 80% of the peas in his garden were produced by 20% of the pea pods. Basically, the relationship between inputs and outputs isn’t equal.
This concept can be applied to our daily lives, examples of such are:
- 80% of the results come from 20% of our time and effort
- 80% of our trouble comes from 20% of the causes
Although the real number may vary in our lives, it is certain that not all actions create the same results, so it is crucial for us to pick what is the most effective and eliminate the rest.
This is the reason why being busy isn’t actually being productive. If you’re busy doing things that aren’t effective, you’re essentially wasting your time, you’re missing out on the opportunity to do other actions that give you more results. Trying to feel busy all the time is actually being lazy, you’re too lazy to think of what to do. Instead, you fill in your time with indiscriminate actions to give you the illusion of being productive.
Real Life Example
Going to a cram school after school is a really popular culture in Taiwan, especially in my school, the most academically competitive high school in Taiwan. My classmates feel like getting those extra lectures in, getting those extra practices in will give them an edge during exams. However, going to cram school usually result in less sleep and decreased focus in class, which reduces the effectiveness of learning. Most importantly, using an extra textbook consumes a lot of time, while most of the questions and concepts in it are very similar to what the teacher at school teaches.
I don’t go to any cram school, I don’t even finish every textbook that our school gives us, I simply choose an important one for each subject and understand it thoroughly. This is how I was able to be ranked 3rd in my school while still having time to do other activities such as my tennis training, school clubs, having at least 8 hours of sleep per night, etc.
How to start applying it to your daily life?
The first step to being real productive is to identify what is worth your time and what isn’t. Analyzing your actions is just as if not more important than performing the action itself. We should aim to perform a thorough Pareto’s Law elimination process every once in a while. We reflect on our lives, find out what isn’t effective, and eliminate it.
It may sound simple, but it is sometimes very difficult to let go of something that you think is necessary. Don’t be afraid to experiment with eliminating, at the end of the day, you can revert to your old routine if things don’t work out. Those who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and experiment are the ones who are able to get to the next level. If you are too afraid to step out of your comfort zone, you will only be making incremental improvements, maybe even no improvements.
Growing and improving as a person is a long journey, I’m also on the journey to get better every single day, let’s all help each other become the best version of themselves, we got this!