Why an Observation From 1896 Could Make You Radically More Efficient
Advice For Scientists
Let’s start with a question:
“If there really was a way to drastically increase my personal productivity… how come I wasn’t taught this in school?”
And I have to say — that’s a good question!
Many of us go through the education system without ever consciously assessing and improving our techniques for becoming more personally productive. Instead, we absorb a simple idea — and a potentially destructive one at that:
The harder I work, the more results I’ll surely achieve
And I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t true. In fact, by just trying harder, we can often end up following too many unnecessary threads and digressions which prevent us from doing the things we really need to do.
Instead, there’s a better way to think about how you achieve results. And it might sound a little extreme at first, but stick with me. Here’s the big reveal:
80% of your results come from only 20% of your effort and time
When you read that, you might be tempted to roll your eyes — surely it’s too good to be true?! It must be an empty promise which can’t possibly apply to the type of work you do, or the level of energy you consistently apply to your projects?
Actually, I’d go even further:
For many people, it’s more like 90% of your results come from 10% of your effort and time.
Curious? Read on…
This is called the Pareto Principle, and it has the ability to completely shift the way you think about getting work done. It isn’t a trendy concept invented in a pop-management book; the Pareto Principle can be traced all the way back to 1896, when Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto began to notice the pattern in various economic modelling he was doing at the University of Lausanne.
You don’t need to look far online to find discussions about this principle, but here’s a quick introduction. In many areas of life:
80% of an effect is created by only 20% of a cause
Here are some real-world examples:
— 80% of software problems are caused by 20% of bugs
— 80% of pollution originates from 20% of all factories
— 80% of sales come from 20% of your clients
— 20% of students have grades 80% or higher
And the list goes on. A quick search will bring up hundreds of similar data points which fit this pattern.
So — what does all this mean for you?
By taking some time to examine your work and your results objectively, you’ll be able to take advantage of this principle and use it as a powerful tool to achieve better results.
Ask yourself:
“What are the specific actions I do in my own work, which take only 20% of the time and consistently achieve 80% of my desired results?”
Answering this question might take some time, but all of us will have some examples where it will successfully apply.
Perhaps, you’ve found that 20% of your projects generate 80% of your papers? That means if you work on 5 projects, one of them brings nearly all the results and outputs. Maybe it produces your high profile papers, it has fantastic collaborators who you communicate with frequently and easily and it brings you grants?
“If you can put more time and effort into this, you can be much more successful. However, we tend to put only a small amount of time and effort into this kind of star project. We put a disproportionally large amount of time and effort into the other 4 projects that do not really bring many results and outputs. If you can let go of just one of those drag projects and put that freed time into your star project, you can already become much more productive and efficient.
Or maybe you’ve realised that writing first-drafts of your projects is massively more efficient than spending more time collecting background research like you’d typically do? Sending it to your co-authors even 80% finished (after spending only 20% of the time) is much more effective than spending additional time researching, editing and polishing it (spending the rest of 80% of the time and effort). Many of the things you wrote might be changed or cut out by the supervisor or co-authors, and all that time you’ve spent editing and polishing it would be lost. However, sending it to your co-authors (while it’s only 80% finished) will save you a lot of time and allow you to move forward with the article sooner.
We’ll all have our own version of how this principle applies to us.
Once you know what your own 20/80 actions are, ask yourself another question:
“How can I do even more of these specific actions? How can I arrange my schedule so I spend more time on these actions and less on others?”
Once you get started, you might be blown away by what a difference it can make.
With my clients, I’ve often found that they’re skeptical of this concept at first, but the more they apply it to their work, the more breakthroughs they’re able to pinpoint and develop.
Scientists among my clients also find it difficult to identify what actions would take 20% of their time and effort and bring 80% of their results. They would say: “everything is important, and everything needs to be done NOW”. This is surely a recipe for immense stress, and no wonder so many scientists who reach out to me feel completely overwhelmed, and behind their schedule.
Embracing this new approach that not everything needs to be done, and realising that some actions are so crucial and special that they produce nearly all of the results in a short amount of time, can be the first step to changing your productivity. Spotting those actions and focusing on doing more of them is a skill that can be learned, although it does take time to ptactice and become good at it like with any other skill.
So if you’re struggling to achieve more results, take a step back and consider how the Pareto Principle might apply in your own life.
You’ve got nothing to lose! Give it a try.
