Understanding the Pareto Principle (The 80/20 Rule)

There’s a common misconception that the numbers 20 and 80 must add to 100 — they don’t!

• 20% of the workers could create 10% of the result. Or 50%. Or 80%. Or 99%, or even 100%.
• In a group of 100 workers, 20 could do all the work while the other 80 goof off. In that case, 20% of the workers did 100% of the work.

Remember that the 80/20 rule is a rough guide about typical distributions.

The key point is that most things in life (effort, reward, output) are not distributed evenly — some contribute more than others.

The Pareto Principle helps you realize that the majority of results come from a minority of inputs.

The point is to realize that you can often focus your effort on the 20% that makes a difference, instead of the 80% that doesn’t add much.

The point of the Pareto principle is to recognize that most things in life are not distributed evenly.

Make decisions on allocating time, resources and effort based on this:

• Instead of spending 1 hour drafting a paper you’re not sure is needed, spend 10 minutes thinking of ideas. Then spend 50 minutes writing about the best one.
• Instead of agonizing 3 hours on a single design, make 6 layouts (30 minutes each) and pick your favorite.

It may be true that 80% of the Mona Lisa was painted in the first 20% of the time, but it wouldn’t be the masterpiece it is without all the details.