We have all heard about the 80/20 rule when it comes to work or business - 20% of what you do actually brings in 80% of the results. If you were to record everything that you did for a day and then looked at what actually brought results, you would find that this rule holds true - only 20% of what you did actually brings real results.
So what about the 90/10 rule? Does it mean only 10% of what we do is equal to 90% of results? In order for this rule to apply, you must have extra ordinary focus. Imagine if you only did 10% in a day, but that 10% is very focused. And if you did that for a few days every month, what the results could be? If you are self-employed, I am sure you are saying, no way, not possible. But if you stopped and looked at your business and identified the one thing that you need to do to bring the results you need, and you only did that for a couple of days, you would find that you would have amazing results.
You see, we all get caught up in non trivial things, such as phone calls, emails, checking this and that - but in reality if we were really focused we could achieve so much more. If our efforts stayed focused and before every task we ask ourselves how important is this, you would find you could eliminate a lot of tasks.
Another way to look at this is to identify your peak time. For some people, first thing in the morning is when they accomplish the most. For others, it is early afternoon, and for some it is just before they leave for the day.
So if we were to define success in the least amount of time, this is what we would do:
- Identify your peak time.
- Identify the one main thing in your job or your business that would have the highest impact
For one week, during your peak time, do that one main thing. Do this every day for five days and you will not have to even think about the 80/20 rule, or the 90/10 secret. You will find that your secret will be that you focus during your peak performance time of the day.
Read the wisdom of David DeNotaris, "I once heard someone say that success is not hocus pocus but focus focus." Focus is a core principle of success. You can be busy doing many things, but if these things are not focused on your end result then you truly are just doing hocus pocus.
