Have you heard of the Pareto Principle? It is sometimes called the 80/20 Rule because it states that 20% of the effort brings 80% of the results. 80/20 spans industries, professions, hobbies, sport, everything. 

In today’s society we are driven to be busy, it is expected in fact. If you are a leader you are multiples busier still! 

Now stop for a moment and think about all the things you do. Take a few minutes to write them down. Was that list longer than you expected? Now take some time to go through the list and put a star next to important items. Of those important items, underline the most critical. The underlined items is where you should spend your time for maximum return. Starred items you can delegate, the rest get rid of or put aside to review again later. 

The first time I did this exercise I was astounded by the size of my list. I was trying to do too many things and not being effective at any of them. When I identified the most critical things in my life and focused only on them I found that I had more joy and free time available. Steady forward progress was made, without unnecessary anxiety caused by the sheer number of things adding no value to my life. 

Take some time to go through the exercise above. What can you focus on to create the highest return in life? 

Photo by Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash