Rule of Time Management

80/20
Rule of Time Management  

The 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle,also known as the Rule of the Vital Few, states that
there is an imbalance between causes and results,between effort and reward. The world is not a
50/50 proposition where effort and reward areequally related. Instead:

•  The majority of what we do each day has little impact.
•  A minority has a major impact.

If 80% of your To Do lists collectively produce only 20% of your results,
What should you do?Plan to schedule the 20% on your calendar and make appointments with yourself to get them done.
80% of your work can be done in 20% of your work
day when you are focused and uninterrupted.
What should you do? Block off 20% (96 minutes) of an 8-hour workday to concentrate on your priority projects. What tasks will have the most impact for the company  or will contribute to reaching your goals?
80% of interruptions can be eliminated. The other 20% can be shortened or controlled
What should you do? Practice grouping similar activities, such as phone calls, email, and filing, so that you do not bounce from one kind of action to another type where you interrupt yourself. Create “Discuss  with…”  folders  for  others  in  your  main group to limit the number of times you interrupt others and they interrupt you. 80% of what you file is not looked at again. What should you do? Be selective in what you choose to keep. Ask yourself:

•   Is it current?
•   Does it pertain to my sphere of work?
•   Does it have any legal or financial implications?
•   When would I use this again?

80% of profits come from 20% of clients.
What should you do? Do not treat every client as equal.  It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  “fire”  clients when they consume too much of your time for the percentage of your earnings that they represent. We wear the same 20% of our clothes 80% of the time.
What should you do? Declutter not just your closet but all of the spaces around you. Clutter is:

•   Distracting because it diffuses your focus
•   Time consuming if you have to hunt for an item
•   Expensive as you end up with duplicates or waste time
•   Stressful when you are coping with too much

If you often feel buffeted by conflicting demands or overwhelmed by the number of tasks facing you,
look for the 20% that will make the difference. As one of the 20% of successful, creative individuals,
you will be producing valuable results and can reap the appropriate rewards. This puts you in control of
your life, both for business and personal endeavors.

Some more examples of Pareto's Law as it applies to various situations. According to the Pareto Principle, it will generally the case (broadly  -  remember it's a guide not a scientific certainty), that within any given scenario or system or organization:
  80 % of activity will require 20 % of resources
  80 % of usage is by 20 % of users
  80 % of the difficulty in achieving something lies in 20 % of the challenge
  80 % of problems come from 20 % of causes
  80 % of profit comes from 20 % of the product range
  80 % of complaints come from 20 % of customers
  80 % of sales will come from 20 % of sales people
  80 % of corporate pollution comes from 20 % of corporations
  80 % of work absence is due to 20 % of staff
  80 % of road traffic accidents are caused by 20 % of drivers
  80 % of a restaurant's turnover comes from 20 % of its menu

[Source: keyorganization.com  & montagueconsult.blogspot.com]