Strategies To Optimize Habits And Achieve Our Goals: The 80/20 Principle

"Do something today that your future self will thank you for."

Anonymous

In the search to find strategies to achieve my goals, I learned the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule. This is a very useful concept for time management and obtaining the results we want to achieve.

Where does this idea come from? Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist, sociologist, mathematician, and philosopher who made the famous observation in 1906 that approximately 20% of the population owned 80% of the wealth, and that this happened naturally in any human society, at any time or in any country. He also noticed that this generic rule can be applied to many aspects of life:

• In business, 80% of sales are generated by 20% of customers.

• 20% of a company's products are responsible for 80% of revenue.

• 20% of the players on a soccer team are the ones who score 80% of the goals.

20% of our activities will produce 80% of our value results. This means that if we have 10 goals, there will be two of those goals that give us 80% of results in terms of well-being, personal satisfaction and success.

The problem is that many times the 20%, those 2 goals in the example, are the ones that cost us the most. We procrastinate them, that is, we postpone the moment to start working on them and we end up focusing on other things that contribute little to us and end up taking us nowhere. Many times we focus on the 80% that does not give us so many results and it is a waste of time and energy. If this becomes a habit, we are going to be “very busy” but not very productive.

How can we apply the Pareto Principle?

For our goals and tasks:

• Write 10 goals that you have for today, or that are related to your life goals. First of all, it is important to know what our goals are, to know where we want to go (See the articles on goals). Ask yourself: if I have to work towards one of those goals, today, what would be the most important one? Which one would have the greatest impact on my life?

• When you are clear about your main goal (which is sometimes enough to make a difference), you can choose second goal to work on, if you want.

• Work on those goals all the time. Remember: “Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew.”

As I’ve already mentioned, the most important goals are sometimes the ones that cost us the most. For example, for me, of all the goals I have, the most important one is health. Exercise, physical activity, meditation, good sleep. And it costs me a lot sometimes! For example starting my exercise routine in the morning is sometimes a struggle! If I don’t do it in the morning, the issue remains in my mind the rest of the day and I don’t feel well until I do it. Yes, sometimes it is difficult for me to start, but when I take the first step I enter an incredible frequency of well-being, I do not stop until I finish my routine, and in the end I feel so good. I comply with myself. I feel fulfilled. Health, like everything in life, is built day by day, with small steps, small goals. That is why it is important to divide the big objective into small parts, so that we do not get overwhelmed and it is easier to start.

Brian Tracy says it’s important to resist the urge to finish the little things first. Generally, they are part of 80% of minor tasks, and they multiply, causing a waste of energy and time.

For physical activity:

First of all, the best exercise is the one that you are going to enjoy and obviously the one that you will do.

For many, the excuse for not exercising is that they don’t have time. Remember that it is better to do little than nothing. Even if we do little exercise, we will get benefits. If we improve 1% every day, in a year, we will be 365% better (37.78 times). And if we are going to exercise for a short time, even a few minutes, there are strategies that allow us to make the most of it.

Applying the 80/20 rule, if we exercise 2-3 days a week, and we stay active the rest of the days, we can obtain very good results, we can achieve 80% of the profit. If the WHO guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate physical activity, with 30 minutes of high intensity and active life the rest of the days, we can achieve the same result.

A method that is scientifically proven and can be very useful is called HIIT, that is, high intensity interval training. I practice it and it is very effective. The routines generally last between 10 and 60 minutes, but it is each person who determines how much they want to do (even a few minutes). You don’t need weights or machines, and it can be done at home. It can also be done with an exercise bike. In practice, a specific exercise is done for less than a minute at high intensity, then a short pause is made to recover, and the exercise is repeated several times. I like it because we can include the exercises we want, change them if we wish to, and choose their duration and intensity. It is always important to start out with light exercises and build up the intensity little by little. One step at a time. Obviously, if you have a health problem, it is better to seek the advice of your doctor or physiotherapist.

The benefits are multiple:

• It slows down aging.

• Improves insulin sensitivity and prevents type 2 diabetes.

• Visceral fat, the one stored in our abdominal cavity and around our organs, is removed.

• Improves mood.

• Lowers blood pressure.

• It increases the activity and the number of mitochondria in our cells. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, they help turn the energy we take from food into energy that the body can use.

• Weight loss.

• It stimulates the growth of brain cells.

And more…

There are many videos on YouTube with various routines for you to review if you are interested, and there is abundant information on the web. One that I really enjoy is The Body Coach.

80/20 in nutrition:

When I learned this principle for nutrition I found it very interesting. In practice, the idea is that 80% of the time we eat healthy and 20% of the time we have more freedom of choice. This does not mean that eating healthy is not enjoyable, you can eat healthy and delicious. But I can’t deny that sometimes I to enjoy some “less healthy” foods; for example, if I eat a dessert, I like to enjoy it. This does not mean that I am going to choose the most processed and harmful dessert, it is only fair that it be something reasonable. The same is true if one day I want to enjoy a glass of wine or good burger (With healthy ingredients). I enjoy them.

How annoying it is to be suffering because of what you eat or don’t eat. Additionally, there’s the cultural obsession with weight.

Statements such as:

Today I had a burger and fries, so from tomorrow I will go back to a rigid diet.

Tomorrow I have to do twice as much exercise to burn the calories I consumed today.

I’d better get my blood tests done before or after Christmas, because I’m sure I will “sin” during the holidays and I have to go on a diet.

How wonderful it is to know that most of the time we are eating real food, full of the nutrients our body needs, but also to know that we can indulge ourselves. If I go to a birthday party, I enjoy the cake; if I go to a restaurant, I enjoy the gastronomy.

The important thing is to choose well most of the time and enjoy.

I hope it is useful.

Go for it!

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