3629: The 80/20 Principle and How It Can Change Your Life by Mark Manson on Personal and Professional Growth

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01] Kennt ihr auch diesen einen Freund, der morgens einfach so ruckzuck aus dem Bett und danach aus dem Grinsen gar nicht mehr rauskommt? Der sogar noch vor dem ersten Kaffee unverschämt gut gelaunt ist und mit der Morgensonne um die Wette strahlt? Furchtbar, ekelhaft, wie kann man nur so

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_02] Ausgeruht sein? Ganz einfach, trainiere deinen Schlaf und werde auch du zum Morgenmenschen. Mit der Galaxy Watch 7 oder dem Galaxy Ring und der Samsung Health App.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_03] Wenn jemand Charles und Melanie gesagt hätte, dass sie nach ihrem Tinder Match gemeinsam einen Channel mit crazy Aufgaben starten, also wirklich crazy, fünf Tage auf einer einsamen Insel verbringen, eine Zipline an einem Gurt runterrasen, eine Million Views knacken, eine Wand mit Saugnöpfen hochklettern und Fallschirm springen in Ägypten? Das hätten die beiden niemals geglaubt. Aber das ist das Ding mit Tinder. Es führt dich an Orte, die du nie erwartet hättest. Wohin es dich auch führt. It starts with a swipe. Tinder.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00] This is Optimal Living Daily, the 80-20 principle and how it can change your life by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. I'm your narrator Justin Malek. I read to you every day of the year from the best articles and blogs I can find with permission from the authors, of course. It's all in an effort to make your and my day even a tiny bit better. So with that, let's get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00] The 80-20 principle and how it can change your life by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. In 1906, there was an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto. One day strolling through his garden, Pareto noticed that every year, 20% of the pea plants in his garden produced approximately 80% of the peas.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00] This got him thinking about economic output on a larger scale. Sure enough, he began to find that in various industries, societies, even companies, 80% of the peas. 80% of the production often came from the 20% most productive portion. This became known as the Pareto principle or what is now often referred to as the 80-20 principle.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00] The 80-20 principle states that 80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action. The 80-20 principle has historically been most popular in business management situations. Businesses often found that roughly 20% of their customers brought in 80% of their sales. They found that about 20% of their sales reps closed 80% of the sales.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00] They found that 20% of your costs led to 80% of their expenses. Microsoft and other tech companies have found that 20% of the bugs they found create 80% of the problems for their users. In terms of time management, businesses often found that 20% of their time created 80% of their productivity and that 20% of their employees created 80% of the value.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00] As time went on, the 80-20 principle became a popular management tool that was used widely to increase efficiency and effectiveness within businesses and industries. And it's still widely taught today in more areas than just business. It's been suggested that when it comes to pandemics, about 20% of infectious individuals are responsible for super spreading, transmitting and spreading 80% of the disease,

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00] which has included STDs, SARS, and more recently COVID-19. The examples go on and on. And of course, nobody was actually there with a yardstick measuring out exactly 80% and 20% for all of these items. But the appropriate 4 to 1 ratio popped up constantly. Whether it's actually 76 to 24 or 83 to 17 is irrelevant. The point is that you are gaining maximal gains from a small input.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00] Or something is costing you way more than it's worth. Applying the 80-20 principle. While widely used in business, few people traditionally thought to apply the 80-20 principle to everyday life or the ramifications it could have. For instance, what are the 20% of your possessions you get the most value of? What do you spend 20% of your time doing that gives you 80% of your happiness?

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00] Who are the 20% of people you're close to who make you the happiest? What are the 20% of the clothes you wear 80% of the time? What's the 20% of food you eat 80% of the time? Chances are, these are easy questions for you to answer. You've just never considered them before. And once you've answered them, you can easily focus on increasing the efficiencies in your life.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00] For instance, the 80% of people you spend time with who only add 20% of the pleasure in your life, spend less time with them. The 80% of crap you use 20% of the time, throw it out or sell it. The 80% of the clothes you wear 20% of the time, same thing. Identifying the 20% of the food you eat 80% of the time will probably explain whether you keep a healthy diet or not, and how healthy it is. Hey, who needs to follow a diet?

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_00] Just make sure to switch to where the 20% of food you eat 80% of the time is healthy. It's also highly likely that 80% of what you own brings you a small amount of your pleasure or happiness. An obvious place to start 80-20ing yourself is with all of that extra stuff laying around. Another is time and how we spend it. Clearing away distractions and setting up your most productive hours, morning or night, for success

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00] is how to get 80% of the day's work done in 20% of the time. When I first considered how the 80-20 principle applied to my own life, I instantly realized a few things. Number one, a few of my hobbies, television shows and video games, accounted for 80% of my time but only brought me 20% of my fulfillment. Number two, I didn't enjoy a few of my friends who I spent 80% of my time with,

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00] hence I was not happy in my social life. And number three, 80% of what I spent my money on was not useful or healthy for my lifestyle. Recognizing these things eventually inspired some hefty changes in my choices and my lifestyle. I dropped video games and television for one. I made efforts to identify other friends to spend more time with, and I paid more attention to what I bought with my money.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00] You just listened to the post titled, The 80-20 Principle and How It Can Change Your Life by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. And I'll be right back with my commentary. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple shop pay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy? That's Shopify. And there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Because Shopify makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business.

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[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00] Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash old. Go to shopify.com slash OLD. Shopify.com slash old. The show is sponsored by Liquid IV. Temperatures are rising here, and to ensure I feel my absolute best, I'm drinking Liquid IV. It's the perfect companion for your hottest summer plans. And they've just launched a new sugar-free flavor, Arctic Raspberry.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00] I love how easy it is, tear, pour, and enjoy knowing it boosts my hydration for any hot summer plan. It's perfect for my travels or being outdoors, even for working, helping me stay hydrated and energized. Liquid IV is powered by LIV HydroScience, with an optimized ratio of electrolytes, essential vitamins, and three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink. It's also non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-free.

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_00] Break the mold and own your ritual. Just one stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone. No matter what your summer brings, tear, pour, live more. Go to liquidiv.com and get 20% off your first order with code OLD at checkout. That's 20% off your first order with code OLD at liquidiv.com. Thank you to Mark. The 80-20 principle is one of those things I've definitely heard about,

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00] mostly in business stuff, like you mentioned. But it's really interesting to think about how it applies to our actual day-to-day lives. When you ask those questions, like what are the 20% of the clothes you wear 80% of the time, that one really jumped out at me. I've talked before about how I pretty much have a uniform, jeans, and a plain t-shirt. And thinking about it through his 80-20 lens, it makes perfect sense. That tiny sliver of my wardrobe, that 20% that makes up my uniform,

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_00] it probably accounts for 80%, maybe even more, of what I actually wear. And honestly, 80% of my peace of mind when it comes to getting dressed. I don't spend much mental energy on it, and that's a huge win for me. It's kind of like what he said about possessions, that 80% of stuff that only brings you 20% of the value. But also, like he said, it's not always exactly 80-20, but the idea that there's this imbalance is what's important.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_00] Where are we putting in a lot of effort or resources for very little return in happiness or usefulness? I know for me, tracking my mood in the past showed that a small group of interactions or types of activities often led to the biggest boosts in happiness. Definitely makes you want to look at where your time and energy are going and see if you can shift things a bit more towards that valuable 20%. So good stuff to think about. Thank you to Mark for this one, and thank you for being here.

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_00] You coming back to listen every day keeps all of this going. And thank you if you ever shared this show with someone, it really means a lot. Have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.