80/20 Your Life! How To Get More Done With Less Effort And Change Your Life In The Process!

by Damon Zahariades

First, identify the type of job you want. Be specific. Second, set weekly goals. Determine how many resumes you’ll send each week, how many interviews you’ll schedule, and how many people you’ll reach out to in your industry. Third, select two or three high-potential job-search tools to use. Examples include industry-specific job websites, college alumni career services, and headhunting services. Don’t waste time tweaking your resume. Don’t spend days coming up with the perfect elevator pitch. Focus on the 20% of job-search activities that’ll deliver the position you want.

First, limit the number of items on your daily to-do list to seven. If you can get away with five, do so. It’s okay to maintain a brain-dump list. But your daily to-do list is something entirely different.

Second, only include high-value tasks on your daily list. Eighty percent of the tasks you’ll be tempted to put on your list won’t contribute to your goals. Focus on the 20% that will.

First, create a folder in your email app and label it “Requires Action/Response.” Place all emails that demand your attention into this folder.

Second, pick two times during the day to clear out this folder. Be consistent with the times. If you decide to do it at noon, do it at noon each day. Third, refrain from returning voicemails and texts unless they’re urgent. In most cases, they won’t be.

Accept That Good Is Good Enough I used to be a perfectionist. This trait manifested in various ways, including the time I spent making sure my home looked immaculate. Today, I realize the hours I spent obsessing about keeping everything spick and span were wasted. After all, the facade only lasted a short while; I had to repeat the cleaning cycle each week to maintain the pretense of perfection.

Identify The 20% Of Your Possessions You Value Most

If you’d like to declutter your home, the 80/20 rule will be your most powerful ally. Here’s how to use it: First, categorize all of your belongings into one of two groups: things you frequently use and things you use rarely often. Do this for your clothes, shoes, kitchen appliances, DVDs, knickknacks, bed sheets and pillowcases, makeup, hair care products, condiments, etc. Then, throw out everything you’ve placed in the second group. Second, scrutinize each item in the first group. Ask yourself whether it truly brings you happiness. In some cases, you’ll find that you’re using certain items out of habit rather than for a specific purpose. If so, discard them. Third, whenever you’re about to purchase something, consider whether it’ll become one of the possessions you use 80% of the time. If not, resist the temptation to buy it. It’ll only clutter your home. This isn’t about becoming a minimalist. Rather, it’s about maintaining a clean living space in a fraction of the time you’d otherwise spend if you entertained a conventional mindset. The 80/20 rule is a lever that maximizes your effectiveness toward that end with minimal action.

I prefer to stick to a simple way of eating that incorporates natural foods while restricting processed foods. This approach is consistent with the 80/20 rule.

Second, make a list of your favorite nutritional foods. Categorize them by type: fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, etc. Doing this serves two purposes. It gives you something to reference when deciding what dishes to prepare. That way, you’re never at a loss. It also streamlines the ingredients you’ll use, simplifying your meals.

Third, make a list of your three favorite lunch dishes and three favorite dinner dishes. These will be your go-to meals. It’ll drastically reduce the number of potential meals you can prepare, which, in turn, will simplify decisions regarding what to eat.

Other folks have no hobbies at all. They spend their time doing things that fail to make them happy in the long run, but do them out of habit. An example is the person who spends hours each day on social media, but feels a general sense of discontent.

Second, review the shows you watch. Rate them from one to ten in terms of how much you enjoy them. Abandon any shows that rate below eight.

Second, think of hobbies that align with these goals. For example, jogging complements your desire to run a marathon. Attending Meetup events is a great way to meet new people who share your interests. Weight training supports your aim to build muscle mass.

First, as with novels, don’t feel as if you must finish a book. Toss it aside if it doesn’t interest you. Move on to a book you find to be more useful, engaging, or insightful.

Second, scan the table of contents before you begin to read the book. Look for items that are immediately relevant to you. Again, don’t feel like you have to read the entire book. It’s okay to skip to the relevant sections. The table of contents will also provide a roadmap. You’ll be able to see where the author is starting, his or her destination, and how he or she intends to get there.

Unfortunately, many people have allowed their most significant relationships to erode due to inattention. Social media has bamboozled folks into believing their online relationships are just as rich and textured as those they enjoy in person.

In truth, they’re not. Our online friends can keep us company, entertain us with gossip, and chat about popular movies and TV shows. But they don’t truly know us. At least, not in the way our real-life friends know us. Is it any wonder we’re feeling more isolated than ever before despite having constant access to “friends” online?

Perhaps you’ve heard friends complain that they feel as if their spouses have become like roommates and their children like tenants.

listen attentively. The better your communication, the deeper the connection.

recognize that 80% of the things that annoy us are inconsequential.

we have too many acquaintances whom we convince ourselves are our friends.

If you’re like most people, you can count the number of such friends on one hand. That’s good news since your time is limited. The problem is, unless you’ve taken the time to identify them, you may not know who they are. Here’s how to fix that problem. First, write down all of the characteristics you value. Don’t be timid. Pretend as if you’re creating the ultimate friend. Second, review your abridged list of friends from above. This is your top 100 list sans the relationships you consider to be expendable. Third, appraise each person on the list. Consider how many of your favored characteristics he or she possesses. Assign each friend a score from one to ten on this basis. This exercise may seem tactless. But it’s a practical way to identify the friends you enjoy the most. You may discover that a friend with whom you’ve been spending a lot of time isn’t the type of friend you value. It’s better to know this upfront. That way, you can make a rational decision regarding whether to continue that relationship.

People are generally on their best behavior when you meet them for the first time.

First, before you agree to go out on a date, ask yourself whether you like the person or if you’re just feeling lonely.

First, make a list of your discretionary expenditures. Include big items you’ve purchased in the last six months, such as new cell phones, gaming consoles, or golf clubs.