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

by Damon Zahariades

40 minutes to study your chosen topic and 10 minutes to test your mastery of it.

For this reason, it’s critical that you focus on learning the most important stuff, and avoid wasting time on nonessential details. For example, suppose you want to learn how to use Photoshop. You’d be best served focusing your time on mastering the features you’ll use most often (e.g. layers, built-in presets, spot healing brush, etc.).

First, start with your purpose. Ask yourself why you’re learning the new material. How do you intend to use your newfound knowledge or newly-developed skill? In other words, what is your desired outcome? Second, identify the aspects of your subject matter that’ll help you the most in accomplishing what you’d like to achieve. For example, suppose you’d like to learn to play the guitar. If you’re mainly interested in playing simple songs, you’d do well to focus on chord construction. On the other hand, if you’d like to play like Eddie Van Halen, you should focus on scales, modes, and dexterity exercises. Third, ignore the rest.

Trust the 80/20 rule. Focus on the material and exercises that promise to deliver the biggest results within the shortest time frame.

we can devote our attention to learning for the purpose of generating results.

Suppose you’re a project manager and complete your latest project with zero errors. You may receive accolades in the present, but will anybody care next month? Suppose you’re a photographer and produce a technically perfect photograph. How long do you expect to be praised for your meticulousness? The point is, doing a perfect job seldom, if ever, generates long-term benefits.

remind yourself that your ultimate goal in learning new things is to become more effective, more productive, and ultimately more valuable. Perfectionism has nothing to do with these outcomes.

your goal should never be to get everything done. Instead, your goal should be to get the most important things done.

whenever you broaden your knowledge or expand your skillset, you should focus on applications that produce the biggest results.

First, write down your purpose for learning the new information or skill. It’s useful to have this purpose in writing in front of you. It’ll keep you focused. Second, make a list of the tasks you can now tackle thanks to your newly-developed expertise. Third, observe each task on your list through the lens of your purpose. Rank each one according to its anticipated effect.

learn things to effect forward progress.

Give yourself the freedom to abandon perfection in the name of getting more done.

they apply strict parameters to failure so they can easily identify it. For example, a student might consider any score below an “A” to be a failure.

In truth, all outcomes, both positive or negative, are learning opportunities. Negative outcomes don’t imply failure as much as suggest the value of revisiting objectives and considering different, and hopefully more effective, approaches. Moreover, positive outcomes signal that we’re on the right track, even if our results fail to meet perfectionistic standards.

First, look for opportunities to learn new skills and concepts that align with your goals.

Second, be willing to meet challenges head-on. Learning new material and putting it to productive use is sometimes difficult. You’re bound to confront roadblocks. Face such challenges directly and you’ll become more resilient to them in the future.

Third, maintain your sense of purpose.

If you run a small business, even if it’s just a side gig, you know from experience how much time and work are involved with keeping it on track. And if you’re running the business while working full-time, you know how crazily hectic it can become as the workload increases in both areas of your life.

the core idea behind the 80/20 rule is to get more done with less effort. Nowhere

It’s about changing how you perceive the connection between your time and effort and the results you produce in every aspect of your life.

I encourage you to look for evidence of the 80/20 rule in your life. Look for it everywhere.