A Productivity Hack by Pareto

Let’s talk about productivity and efficiency. As a designer and solopreneur, it’s crucial to ship fast and of good quality work consistently. The 80/20 method, also known as Pareto’s Principle, has been my game-changer method for the past years. Pareto’s observation: A large percentage of effects in any large system are caused by a low percentage of variables.

The 80/20 rule pretends that approx 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables in that specific system.

The thoughts behind this are important: Pareto’s principle is a useful method for focusing resources and, in return, getting greater efficiencies in your process. 80% of the results can be done in 20% of the total effort/time. Those affected 20% of the results with 80% of the work. Focus on the things you can do in 20% of your time to get 80% of the result and you will boost your efficiency. The remaining 80% of the work should be reevaluated to verify the value and you can think about if they give a certain value at all. You must define and be aware of the desired outcome. This is the metric that defines your work deliverables. This is why it can vary for each project.‍

Not all tasks and actions in your project are of equal value. Use this rule to evaluate the value of actions, find areas for redesign or optimization, and focus your resources efficiently.‍

Uncritical tasks of your project should be minimized or removed entirely, as they are among the 80% less important parts. If you have resources left over, you can use them to work on the 20% effects that take 80% of the time to be realized. Perfect for polishing!

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