Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? Chances are that this rule is impacting you right now even if you aren't aware of it or how it works. The good news is that by becoming aware of the rule and how it applies to you right now will allow you to manipulate it and use it to help you get some awesome results! And we all want awesome results don't we?
The 80/20 rule says that 80% of what we achieve is a direct result of 20% of the actions we take. In this context, what it is telling us is that a small portion of the things we do each day create the majority of our outcomes. Now, the ratio may not really be 80/20 - it could even be 99/1 - but the point remains that there are a small number of certain activities you engage in each an every day which are creating most of your happiness (or unhappiness) and most of your results (whether they are good or bad).
It's not hard to understand how this rule applies to your life but let's look at a basic example which will apply to you to help you understand it. Let's think about your social life (hopefully you have one!) The reality is that you almost certainly spend 80% or more of your social time with 20% or less of the people you know. Think about it. Do you spend most of your time with a few close friends? Or you may spend 80% or more of your time sending texts, calling and chatting online with 20% or less of your contacts.
Given that 80% of what we achieve is a direct result of 20% of the actions we take, the first point to take away today is that in order to have the most impact you must focus on the 20% that is impacting your 80% - and then disregard the rest. That's right, find your 20% and then forget everything else.
Quite clearly, there is no reason to focus any time or energy on anything other than the 20% that is creating 80% of your results. If you want to get the biggest bang for your buck, you need to focus on any areas that create maximum outcomes (you wouldn't do the opposite because that would be crazy!) However, I can still hear you asking - "but what are my 20% areas? What small things do I need to change that will create the biggest results for me?"
So which small areas are having the biggest impact on your results? Unfortunately it could be many things. For example, time management and a lack of organization are often cited as key problems. But for the point of this article let's focus on three areas that are most often cited as problematic (and are definitely 20% areas!)
The biggest 20% area that undoubtedly creates and influences your outcomes are your habits. With poor habits come poor results. There is no doubt about it. You may not even realize it but your habits are impacting you right now. Change your habits and you will change your outcomes.
The next 20% area is motivation - an often misunderstood action driver. If you don't "feel" motivated then there is a very good chance that you will take very little action (or take no action at all!) But how do you "get motivated"? The key here is that you must have something that calls you into action. You must have something that you want to work towards (notice that it's about what you want - not anyone else). If you have no motivation you will do nothing. If you do nothing you will get some pretty poor outcomes. Again, this is just one small area that has a huge impact.
The next area is memory recall. If you can't remember data and information very well then unfortunately you are going to struggle to get top marks. Tests and exams become far less daunting when you have honed your memory recall ability - and they are terrifying when you haven't! You must be able to recall mountains of information in order to be successful because education tests memory as much as it tests knowledge. You would think they would have a subject called "memory" given how much focus there is on your memory recall ability! So again, we can see that a small area (your 20%) is impacting a huge part of your outcomes (your 80%).
Clearly, there are many areas that impact your results in schooling and your results in life for that matter. But by figuring out which areas are having the biggest impact you will be able to quickly change your results. Identify your personal 20% areas that are having a big influence on your outcomes and do something about them today. If you do, your grades will shoot up quickly. If you don't, you should expect more of the same. Good luck!
The 80/20 rule says that 80% of what we achieve is a direct result of 20% of the actions we take. In this context, what it is telling us is that a small portion of the things we do each day create the majority of our outcomes. Now, the ratio may not really be 80/20 - it could even be 99/1 - but the point remains that there are a small number of certain activities you engage in each an every day which are creating most of your happiness (or unhappiness) and most of your results (whether they are good or bad).
It's not hard to understand how this rule applies to your life but let's look at a basic example which will apply to you to help you understand it. Let's think about your social life (hopefully you have one!) The reality is that you almost certainly spend 80% or more of your social time with 20% or less of the people you know. Think about it. Do you spend most of your time with a few close friends? Or you may spend 80% or more of your time sending texts, calling and chatting online with 20% or less of your contacts.
Given that 80% of what we achieve is a direct result of 20% of the actions we take, the first point to take away today is that in order to have the most impact you must focus on the 20% that is impacting your 80% - and then disregard the rest. That's right, find your 20% and then forget everything else.
Quite clearly, there is no reason to focus any time or energy on anything other than the 20% that is creating 80% of your results. If you want to get the biggest bang for your buck, you need to focus on any areas that create maximum outcomes (you wouldn't do the opposite because that would be crazy!) However, I can still hear you asking - "but what are my 20% areas? What small things do I need to change that will create the biggest results for me?"
So which small areas are having the biggest impact on your results? Unfortunately it could be many things. For example, time management and a lack of organization are often cited as key problems. But for the point of this article let's focus on three areas that are most often cited as problematic (and are definitely 20% areas!)
The biggest 20% area that undoubtedly creates and influences your outcomes are your habits. With poor habits come poor results. There is no doubt about it. You may not even realize it but your habits are impacting you right now. Change your habits and you will change your outcomes.
The next 20% area is motivation - an often misunderstood action driver. If you don't "feel" motivated then there is a very good chance that you will take very little action (or take no action at all!) But how do you "get motivated"? The key here is that you must have something that calls you into action. You must have something that you want to work towards (notice that it's about what you want - not anyone else). If you have no motivation you will do nothing. If you do nothing you will get some pretty poor outcomes. Again, this is just one small area that has a huge impact.
The next area is memory recall. If you can't remember data and information very well then unfortunately you are going to struggle to get top marks. Tests and exams become far less daunting when you have honed your memory recall ability - and they are terrifying when you haven't! You must be able to recall mountains of information in order to be successful because education tests memory as much as it tests knowledge. You would think they would have a subject called "memory" given how much focus there is on your memory recall ability! So again, we can see that a small area (your 20%) is impacting a huge part of your outcomes (your 80%).
Clearly, there are many areas that impact your results in schooling and your results in life for that matter. But by figuring out which areas are having the biggest impact you will be able to quickly change your results. Identify your personal 20% areas that are having a big influence on your outcomes and do something about them today. If you do, your grades will shoot up quickly. If you don't, you should expect more of the same. Good luck!
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