Not Enough Time For Everything Needed in College: Use 80/20 Rule
BY MELISSA BURNS
The Rule of 80/20 was coined by an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1906, and since that time it has helped thousands of people manage their lives more efficiently. Also known as the Pareto principle, today it’s one of the most popular techniques used by successful people. The secret of its efficiency lies in the fact that applying this rule can help you achieve the best results with minimal effort.
It’s a dream come true for any student who has so much to do and only 24 hours in the day. Using the 80/20 Rule will enable you to boost your productivity and generally change your life to become a healthier and happier person. You just need to find the 20% of actions that yield 80% of results.
10 Original Ways to Apply the 80/20 Rule
- Rearrange your study schedule.
Studying is a complicated process that consists of dozens tasks, such as reading books, studying news in scientific journals, interviewing sources, compiling notes, etc. Write down a list of every task you complete to prepare a particular project and choose which provide most information/best results. Eliminate the least efficient tasks and simplify your study process as a whole. - Increase the income from your website.
Running your own website offers great opportunities for every student. You can make money off it through affiliate programs, like Amazon’s or through ads if you have a blog. Whatever you choose, you need to make your page popular, which means filling it with great value. You can create top-quality content with the 80/20 Rule. Offer 80% of reliable information and 20% of personal input, and your readers will appreciate your posts much more. - Waste less time online.
Create a log of your online activities. Which of them are most rewarding? Mercilessly cut out 80% of the stuff that has no real value and you’ll free up a huge amount of time. Then, apply the same principle to your daily schedule and you’ll free even more hours to spend on doing the things that bring you 80% of your happiness. - Sort your relationships.
Assess how much time and energy you invest in every relationship in your life. Then think how much joy each of them brings you. Be honest with yourself and weed out the people who monopolize your time without making you happy in return. - Improve your eating habits.
What are 20% of the foods you eat 80% of the time? Are they healthy? Analyzing your diet using this principle and adjusting it accordingly will help make your meal plan better, without the stress that comes from cutting off the ‘bad’ foods entirely. - Become a better person.
Identify 20% of your qualities that are responsible for 80% of your success. Now, focus on improving those and developing them to become even better. This application of the 80/20 Rule will help students who can’t decide on which career they should choose. - Make your life less stressful.
Analyze your life as a whole and find 20% of things that cause the majority of your stress. It can be relationships, beliefs, habits, or even the lack of knowledge on some subjects. This list would be a roadmap to improving your life and becoming a happier person in general. - Get rid of the unnecessary stuff.
The 80/20 Rule is perfect for spring cleaning everything, from your closet to your hard drive. Take a toll of all the things you surround yourself with and remove the 80% you don’t really use. You can sell them making some extra money or just give them away to charity. With your house/wardrobe/table/computer de-cluttered, you’ll find it easier to focus and work. This kind of analysis will also help you choose the right kind of stuff to buy in the future.Melissa Burns graduated from the faculty of Journalism of Iowa State University in 2008. Nowadays she is an entrepreneur and independent journalist. Her sphere of interests includes startups, information technologies and how these ones may be implemented.
