Time management is crucial for managing all level of productivity. Without managing this nothing moves. There are some fundamental principles you need to understand when it comes to time/task management. One of the most important principle is PERETO PRINCIPLE.
Pareto’s Principle (also known as 80:20 Rule) : -20% of our activity produces 80% of our results
It is called the Pareto Principle after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. This principle is applicable almost all areas of life. 20% of your customers will give 80% of sales. 20% of your products will produce 80% growth. Similarly this is applicable for time management also. 20% of your tasks will produce 80% of the impact/results. This is what we call in our Neo Time Management ( more on this in later lessons) – “Strategic” tasks. Basically, you should not measure your TASK PRODUCTIVITY based on number of tasks you completed instead you should focus more on your 20% (strategic) activities. This is what “smart work” means.
Take a week long of your activities and analyse where you are spending your time. What are your 20% activities that can give 80% of results”. Some of the examples of 20% activities –
- Upfront planning – planning resources, activities, etc..all of these will give huge results. We all know the importance of planning but very few realise the impact of not having plan on the productivity
- Process Standardisation – It is much easier to operate in ad hoc way. But if you invest time in establishing standard processes then the benefits are huge
- Use of Technology/Automation – This is definitely a 80% result kind of activity. Think of all areas of work that can be automated using technology
Lot of Apps and to-do lists won’t take care of this principle into consideration. Hence many are not effective with TASK PRODUCTIVITY. Use 80:20 principle and get maximum impact delivered !! And work smart and strategic !!