The 20/80 Principle and Listening to Your Inner Procrastinator

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We are used to seeing laziness as our enemy and are desperately trying to eradicate it from ourselves. A procrastinator lives in every person, and here you can act in one of two directions: try to fight your nature, or learn to use this lazy person for your own good.

In this article, Perry Marshall discusses ways to transform an internal procrastinator into a friend.

Ten years ago, my friend Bill told me: “Perry, I have a million dollar idea for you, but with one condition. If you earn this million, you will give 10 thousand as charity to the city school."

I agreed, after which Bill pointed out my ability to make tons of money by writing and publishing books. He advised me to expand my field of activity and enter the consulting business.

I decided he was right. And you know what? The hardest part was getting myself to start implementing. When I sat down at the table to outline the details of the project, my internal procrastinator would tell me, "Wait a minute, why don't you go to the hairdresser?"

This procrastinator was a signal to me that I was definitely on the right track. I decided to finish the project and it ended up doubling my income. The school received a check for $ 10,000.

I'm a passionate fan of the 20/80 rule. This principle applies to many aspects of business and life, including how we spend our time.

Pareto's law, or the Pareto principle, or the 20/80 principle - a rule of thumb named after the economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto, in its most general form, it is formulated as “20% of the efforts give 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of the efforts - only 20% of the result.

I have found that this internal procrastinator, if you follow it closely, is absolutely clear about the things you need to do.

20% of the effort gives 80% of the result - it all works when you procrastinate, and instead of what you planned, you start deleting old emails or watering the garden.

In the end, I had to close myself in a library with no internet access to write a marketing plan for a new business that scared me so deep down. Those demons in my head knew it was a good idea, and I decided to listen to them.

As soon as my inner procrastinator tells me to check Twitter or iron shirts instead of what I was planning, I already know that what I was planning to do is a good idea. And I switch to her.

It's not that we don't want to work. In fact, we are afraid of work that will entail meaningful change. Many of us are afraid of success.

How to use your internal procrastinator to your advantage

• Daily to-do list. You wake up in the morning and make a list of 10 things to do today. One item on this list will be 10 times more important than all the others, but we love to procrastinate and invent devilishly clever things so as not to start doing that very thing. Trust your instinct and do it. Today.
• The procrastination demon detector also works when you need to look at the whole picture. When you are totally absorbed in your work, you just don't have time to stop and ask yourself, "What can I do next week to double my sales next year?" You will writhe from such a question. The more confusion you get, the better. The things that cause the most inner discomfort are definitely the ones that need your attention more than others.
• Use your free time correctly. I encourage entrepreneurs to hire home maintenance staff and personal assistants to free themselves from their drudgery. What do you do with those two hours that you were able to free up for yourself? You can waste them pointlessly, or you can specifically think about a business strategy.
• Perfectionism is the root of all evil. Most of us calm our inner fears and maintain our own ordinariness by perfecting things that shouldn't be perfect. You spend 15 minutes editing an email before you hit submit. You can clean your car 2 times a week. Often times, procrastination is not about doing nothing, but about doing ordinary and comfortable things.
• Add Do Nothing to your to-do list. I am a supporter of having a free day in a week. Instead of checking emails, everyone should create a space for themselves where they can meditate or do nothing at all. Your best business ideas will come to you when you are not working. Enjoyable activities we love fuel our creativity.

I experienced all this on my own skin. For many years I have lived in a "gas to failure" rhythm, working 7 days a week. And it got me nowhere because I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do in the first place.