Last updated on Jul 11, 2024

How do you align the Pareto principle with your values and vision?

The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. This can apply to many aspects of life, such as productivity, happiness, health, and relationships. But how do you align the Pareto principle with your values and vision? How do you identify and focus on the 20% that matters most to you? Here are some tips to help you use the Pareto principle to achieve your personal and professional goals.

1 Clarify your values and vision

Before you can apply the Pareto principle, you need to have a clear idea of what you value and what you want to achieve. Your values are the guiding principles that define your purpose, your passions, and your priorities. Your vision is the desired outcome that you want to create in your life or work. To clarify your values and vision, you can use tools such as journaling, vision boards, or value cards. Write down your values and vision and review them regularly to keep them fresh in your mind.

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Jesse T.

Associate Accountant - Medicaid Finance Manager - Division of Administration- Fiscal Management Group
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Identify values by observing time use, decision-making, and activities that energize or discourage you. Honestly assess your current state and let values guide you towards your vision. Evaluate values' strength in achieving your vision. If lacking, strengthen or deepen connections with them to provide necessary energy. Implement practical steps like meditation, fostering spiritual and social connections, volunteering, mentoring, and participating in activities like hiking. These steps reinforce values and maintain focus on your vision.

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Risheek Kaul

Building RyzeUp
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Focusing on the vital few aspects that truly matter makes all the difference. Identify your core values and key objectives, then channel your energy toward what truly moves the needle. Quality over quantity paves the way to impactful progress.

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Ana Cláudia Santos-Cortez

Chief of Staff @ Feedzai | Certified ICF® Coach, focus on Performance, Executive, Org Development | Change Management | Professional Trainer | PMI-ACP® | Proud Working Mom | Women in Tech
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“7 habits of highly effective people” by Stephen Covey is a must read within this topic. After reading it I took some time to reflect around my values and priorities in life and that kicked off that 20% of things that deserve 80% of my focus :)

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Cathy A.

Apple Specialist | CEO & Founding Director
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Pareto Principle wisdom in action. Invest in meaningful relationships, focus on high-impact priorities, learn from key sources, and trim stress at its root. Simplify for a richer, more fulfilling life!

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2 Analyze your current situation

Once you have a clear picture of your values and vision, you need to assess your current situation and see how well it aligns with them. This means evaluating your activities, habits, results, and challenges. You can use tools such as time logs, goal trackers, or SWOT analysis to collect and analyze data. Look for patterns and trends that reveal where you are spending your time and energy, what you are achieving, and what you are struggling with.

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Elia Ahadi

building a new venture 🚀
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Self awareness and actively writing down your situation will help identify the gaps where you need to focus the most. Ideally you can do it yourself with different frameworks. However, if it challenging, you may need to refer to a mentor or someone with experience to help guide you.

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3 Identify the 20% that matters

The next step is to identify the 20% of your activities, habits, results, and challenges that contribute the most to your values and vision. These are the things that have the highest impact, leverage, or return on investment. They are also the things that bring you the most joy, satisfaction, or fulfillment. To identify the 20%, you can use tools such as the Eisenhower matrix, the ABCDE method, or the SMART criteria. Rank your activities, habits, results, and challenges according to their importance, urgency, difficulty, and relevance.

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Bruce Marrow

Program & Project Management / Regulatory Compliance / Audit Management
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The 20% for you and your team within your organization IS the question that may be hardest to answer on your own. Let's face it, the squeaky wheel tends to get the grease. Touching base regularly with your reports and the senior leadership team is vital to ensuring that the RIGHT things are taking the top priority position in all of our To Do lists.

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4 Focus on the 20% that matters

The final step is to focus on the 20% that matters and eliminate, delegate, or automate the rest. This means allocating more time, energy, and resources to the activities, habits, results, and challenges that align with your values and vision. It also means saying no to distractions, interruptions, or low-value tasks that take away from your focus. To focus on the 20%, you can use tools such as calendars, timers, to-do lists, or batching. Schedule your most important tasks for your peak hours, set deadlines and reminders, and group similar tasks together.

By aligning the Pareto principle with your values and vision, you can optimize your priority management and achieve more with less. You can also increase your happiness, health, and well-being by doing more of what you love and less of what you don't. The Pareto principle is not a rigid rule, but a flexible guideline that can help you make better decisions and take smarter actions.

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Elia Ahadi

building a new venture 🚀
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Once you have that 20%, this is where you say 'no' to anything that doesn't provide much value. Setting up systems (habits) to work on this 20% will push you to making good progress.

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Cathy A.

Apple Specialist | CEO & Founding Director
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I’ve gone by this principle that one should "become brutally aware of what you don't want in your life" and eliminate them from your life.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you align the Pareto principle with your values and vision?

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1 Clarify your values and vision

2 Analyze your current situation

3 Identify the 20% that matters

4 Focus on the 20% that matters

5 Here’s what else to consider

Priority Management

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