Time Management is a Myth. Contractors, follow the 80/20 Rule.

"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”
– Zig Ziglar

We can’t “manage time,” but we can work on the highest value actions in the time we have.

One of the top drivers of high performers is to work on the top 20 percent of projects that are going to deliver the greatest results. Everything else should be eliminated or delegated.

The 80/20 Rule
In 1897 Italian economist Vilfredo Pereto noticed that 20% of the population controlled 80% of the wealth and income. Being a curious economist, he then noticed that 20% of the pea pods in his garden yielded 80% of the peas. Continuing his research, he found that 20% of criminals committed 80% of the crimes. 20% of the beer drinkers drank 80% of the beer. 20% of the clothes one owned were worn 80% of the time. 20% of married people accounted for 80% of the divorces. 

Continuing Pereto’s observations we see that –

• 20% of drivers cause 80% of the accidents. 
• 20% of your carpet has 80% of the wear. 
• 20% of the streets get 80% of the traffic. 
• 20% of the clients contribute 80% of the profit.

This is now known as the Pereto Principle or the 80/20 rule.

In your leadership life, 20% of what you do produces 80% of the results you get.

Knowing this, we can identify what those 20% of activities are, and do more of them, and less of what takes 80% of our time and only produces 20% of the results. It’s the criteria for PRIORITIZATION.

“If you’re doing ten tasks, two are going to be vastly more important than the others eight.”
– Brian Tracy

We Can't Manage Time
The idea is that we can’t “manage time” or make more of it. All we can do is work on the highest value actions in the time we have. This means we have to find ways to eliminate or delegate the 80% of tasks that produce the least results to make space in our schedules. If we do the right things – those things that produce the most positive results for the least amount of time on our part, we can leverage our time to get far more positive results than we are getting now.

 “What we fear doing most, is usually what we most need to do”
– Tim Ferriss

80/20: More Results. Less Time.
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