Finding Flow: Balancing Passion and Responsibility

The Pareto principle was first used in macroeconomics to describe the distribution of wealth in italy in the early 20th century. Pareto noticed that 20% of the population was responsible for 80% of the wealth.

On the not so good days, I can find myself strategically wasting a great deal of time dressed up as productivity. Bouncing from one activity to the next, going down (un)related rabbit holes. Doing this of course puts me in a frantic energy and pressure to get back on track, but there is no flow and I don't feel much accomplishment afterwards.

And this doesn't happen just once, but every time I take on an objective where I lack clarity of direction.

I want you to consider the application of this principle in your life:

• What if you spent 80% of your time doing what you loved to do and 20% doing what you needed to?
• What if in that small window you were so focused and committed to get shit done that you actually did. Get shit done that is. All of it.
• So that you had 80% of your finite resource of time, energy and attention (T.E.A) available to you for what really matters.

6 STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE 80/20 RULE

1. Segment your week: What do you want each of your days to be like?
2. Block your days: I mean all areas of your life, work, personal, family. What are you doing, when? What is taking up 80% of your time.
3. IMPORTANT > Be clear what you're working on in each block. Set the intention and focus your energy on that intention for 60 minutes.
4. Stop when the block is done.
5. Review: Set aside 15 minutes, assess your progress and schedule a follow-up block to continue/complete.
   
6. Practice prioritizing. This principle is about investing your energy on what gets you the best results in your life.

PS: This newsletter could have taken me 120 minutes, but instead it was scheduled, written and readied for publish in 60.

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“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
- Aristotle