Thoughts on the 80/20 philosophy, in 300 words or less. Email updates > check menu
Recognizing patterns was helpful for our ancestors. They could make decisions based on seasonal cues or changes in food supply. But today, we often extrapolate too much. In his article “Ruthless Extrapolation,” professor of physics Tom Murphy demonstrates this with an extrapolation of transatlantic crossing times: Extrapolate the progress of the aeronautical age to 2012, …
I recently had a great surfing session. The waves were clean, long, and within my abilities. The sun was shining. The water had a beautiful emerald green color. I was present. I was content. I was peaceful. I felt light and without a care in the world. The ocean took a huge weight off my …
Hi, I’m Martin and I’m addicted to action-taking. At the beginning of October I made a hard decision to shut down a new business. I told myself that I would take it easy for the foreseeable future. I needed it for my mental health. I would focus on my road trip through Europe. Then I …
As we focus on optimizing our lives, we might give too much value to what is uncontrollable. We might think that it’s the last piece of the puzzle to have a “perfect” life. For example, let’s say that 98% of things in your life go well. You’re healthy. You have a loving partner. You have …
I’ve never enjoyed having a busy calendar. With more than one urgent matter to attend to, I already get anxious. The idea of back-to-back tasks throughout the day gives me jitters. It sounds like a major character flaw. In our fast-paced world, we should be able to deal with many obligations, shouldn’t we? Or should …
For years I wasn’t aware of my own superpower. And then I helped someone who didn’t have this skill. I found it natural and easy. They found it wearisome and difficult. And here I was pursuing other skills and starting ventures that didn’t put this ability at the forefront. This skill was writing. For years …
1% doesn’t seem like a big number, yet—as the 80/20 principle shows—makes a world of difference. In his book The Success Principles, Jack Canfield states that 99% is a bitch; 100% is a breeze. You should pursue goals only with a 100%, no-exceptions commitment. The quote made me think of when we make an important …
Are you burdened by a half-finished project you can’t seem to wrap up? Deep down, you know that you’ll never finish it. But you’re unable to call it quits. Because quitting is for losers, right? All that guilt robs you of mental energy you could have spent on a more worthwhile endeavor that excites you. …
We all have blind spots that make it difficult to practice 80/20 thinking. One source of these overlooked inefficiencies are emotional biases. For example, status quo bias makes us prefer the current state of affairs. We perceive any change, even if meant to improve the situation, as a potential loss. This makes us reluctant to …
What if you could strengthen your 80/20 thinking muscle by de-cluttering your physical environment? In Pre-Suasion, Robert Cialdini shares a story of writing his first book, Influence. He worked in two different environments. The first one was his campus office with a view over academic institutes. In the second environment, his home office, he had …
