80/20 ruleAnyone who has ever worked in an office has observed the following types of behavior. On the one hand, you have the perfectionists that are scrambling for time to produce the perfect report or finish a task flawlessly. They always seem to be in a hurry, stressed and worried about being able to finish their assigned task. The details in their work are painstakingly obvious and reflect the countless hours, days or months they have put into their work. The cost of such behaviour (often resulting from insecurities and/or perfectionism) often include fatigue, stress, irritability and other consequences that result from neglecting other areas in their lives (family, fun, social activities, etc.) while they were hard at work.

The burden of believing you must deliver perfection is unrealistic and can be a source of frustration when faced with uncertainty and unexpected obstacles. We live in an ever changing environment and must expect to deal with these changes when they arise. To a perfectionist, these changes are major obstacles that defy their unrealistic expectations that everything must occur flawlessly.

The other group of people whom you have most likely encountered seem to always have time on their side. They find the time to socialize at work, seem well rested, are generally in a good mood, and complete their tasks on time. What secret do these people have that seem to make them so productive while still having enough time (and energy) to do other things? These people have probably heard of (or applying) the Pareto principle (otherwise known as the 80/20 rule).

The Pareto principle was first introduced by Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, who observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. This interesting ratio was also observed in different areas. In economics, studies have shown that 80% of a country’s wealth is produced from 20% of its population. In criminology, studies have shown that approximately 80% of crimes are committed by 20% of criminals. The 80/20 rule was also introduced to the field of time management by Richard Koch and Marc Mancini. They argue that investing 20% of our effort on a particular task will produce 80% of the desired result.

Therefore, if you are producing a 10 page report that takes you 4 hours to write, learning to cut it down to 2 pages in 40 minutes would produce a “good enough” report. Delivering something that is “good enough” is a problem for perfectionists. They are not satisfied until they produce something considered perfect (in their eyes). Since perfection doesn’t really exist, they are rarely satisfied. Learning how to welcome “good enough” is not only a recipe to increase productivity but also for life satisfaction. Most of us would agree that our lives are good enough. Learning to embrace this concept rather than chasing perfection is one of the strategies that lead to happiness.

The trick (in our example with the report) is learning to exclude information that is not essential and/or pertinent. Although we often enjoy delivering creative, thorough and poetic prose, we tend to forget about the person we are writing the report for. Will they be impressed, interested and motivated to read a report that includes information that (although may be interesting) may be superfluous, or would they rather read a shorter report that includes all of the relevant information required. After all, the qualities of a good report are brief, accurate, concise, precise and clear. Most of all, it must be readable and keep the reader interested.

Applying the 80/20 rule at the workplace can lead to a more relaxed, productive environment. We can also use the Pareto principle in other areas of our lives. Are you spending too much time at work/school/etc.., and neglecting other important areas of your life (social, family, leisure)? Find a way to use the 80/20 rule to spend a little more time (even if it’s only 20%) to activities you are neglecting.

As we learn to use our time wisely and effectively, we are left with more time to savor the precious little moments of the day that give us pleasure and increase our sense of well being. Reallocating our resources in a way that allows us to do more by actually investing less time and effort is a strategy that employers and employees should strive to implement and reinforce.