How Does the Pareto Principle Work? The Pareto Principle is a concept that suggests two out of ten items, on any general to-do list, will turn out to be worth ...PersonalSuccessSalesSuccessBusinessSuccessLeadershipSuccessThe8020RuleExplainedPersonalSuccessThe8020ruleis oneofthemosthelpfulconceptsforlifeandtimemanagement.Alsoknownas theParetoPrinciple,thisrulesuggeststhat20percentofyouractivitieswillaccountfor80percentofyourresults.Thisbeingthecase,youshouldchangethewayyousetgoalsforever.Whatisthe8020Rule?AsIjustmentioned,the8020ruleisalsocalledthe“ParetoPrinciple.” Itwasnamedafterit’sfounder,theItalianeconomistVilfredoPareto,backin1895.Henoticedthatpeopleinsocietyseemedtodividenaturallyintowhathecalledthe“vitalfew,” orthetop20percentintermsofmoneyandinfluence,andthe“trivialmany,” orthebottom80percent.Later,hediscoveredthatvirtuallyalleconomicactivitywassubjecttothisprinciple,inthat80percentofthewealthofItalyduringthattimewascontrolledby20percentofthepopulation.WecantakePareto’s8020ruleandapplyittoalmostanysituation.Understandingtheprincipleisessentialtolearninghowtoprioritizeyourtasks,days,weeks,andmonths.Inbusiness,it’sessentialtostrategicplanning,whichisoneoftheleadershipqualitiessharedbytheworld’smostimportantleaders.Forthepurposeofthisarticle,wewilldiscussapplyingitspecificallytogoalsettingandproductivity. Downloadmy14-StepGoal-SettingGuidetoputthe8020Ruleintoaction!HowDoestheParetoPrincipleWork?TheParetoPrincipleisaconceptthatsuggeststwooutoftenitems,onanygeneralto-dolist,willturnouttobeworthmorethantheothereightitemsputtogether.Thesadfactisthatmostpeopleprocrastinateonthetop10or20percentofitemsthatarethemostvaluableandimportant,the“vitalfew,”andbusythemselvesinsteadwiththeleastimportant80percent,the“trivialmany,”thatcontributeverylittletotheirsuccess.HowtoApplythe8020RuletoGoalSettingHere’swhatyoushoulddoinordertoeffectivelyapplythe80/20ruletosettingSMARTgoalswhichwillboostyouroverallproductivity.First,takeapieceofpaperandwritedowntengoals.Thenaskyourself:Ifyo