© by Wayne ENS  

            I often encounter managers who confuse activity with productivity, especially managers thrust into a multi-tasking environment, wearing several hats with multiple mandates.
            Coaching them to employ the old 80/20 rule in their time management has been one of the most valuable tools I’ve been able to give them.
            The 80/20 rule was first revealed by Vilfredo Pareto when he discovered the importance of what he called “the vital few” economic activities versus the “the trivial many”. Also called the Pareto Principle, this rule dictates that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results; 20 percent of your products will account for 80 percent of your profits; and 20 percent of your accounts will account for 80 percent of your revenue.
            When you have a list of ten things to do, the odds are that two of those ten tasks will be more valuable to your company, your customers and your career, than the other eight combined. In fact, one of those tasks may create results five or ten times the value of the other nine, even though each of the ten tasks require the same amount of time.
            It is that one or two highest-leverage tasks you need to tackle FIRST each day, even though they may be the toughest or most complex on your to-do list. The most successful managers, and sales people, refuse to focus on the bottom 80 percent of their tasks until the top 20 percent are successfully completed.
            Before you tackle the tasks on your to-do list, discipline yourself to ask, “Is this on the top 20 percent of my activities list, or the bottom 80 percent?”