In one of today's posts over at Lifehacker, "Apply the 80/20 Rule to Your Life" by GINA TRAPANI, the question posed is "Do you find the tasks that tasks (and people) that take up 80% of your time contribute a lot less to your bottom line?" (Her words not mine. - RA)
This has been something I have been thinking about for a while now. I have looked at number of techniques to try to improve productivity and one that I liked was to divide the hours in to 48 and 12 minute sections. I chose to use 45/15 because it is a little easier to work with.
The idea is to find those things that you must do, that are not considered to contribute to your overall productivity, and put them into the 15 minute space. I try to use that 15 minute space to take a short walk around, to get away from the computer and get a drink of water or a snack. By limiting the time, it forces us to get through those projects quickly.
The 45 minute portion should be reserved for the big rocks (as Covey calls them in the 7 Habits).
It may take more than one 45 minute session to accomplish the task, but including a break is a good idea. Often by getting away from the problem we allow the reasoning part of our minds some freedom to consider or think a little bit.
I think this 45/15 method still needs some work, but I am looking to incorporate it into one or more of my training courses. I believe that effective leaders, that is Modern Magellans, make a strong statement about their role when they are visibly productive, organized, and professional.
Since Lifehacker makes you sign in and "tryout" to be a commenter I don't know if my comment will ever appear. So, here it is:
The 80/20 rule has been terribly over-extended. It was first used to look at real estate ownership and it does not even apply there any longer. The companion to the 80/20 is the Long Tail now popularized by Chris Anderson (no relation). In both cases however, it is important to focus on the concept and not the numbers.
Learning to identify actions or demands that take us away from the more important (subjective) tasks and that reduce our productivity (quantitative) is the real goal. It is easy to be active, it can be difficult to be productive. Activity does not equal accomplishment. I always think of the Seinfeld episode where George walks around looking aggravated all day. Everyone thinks he must be busy to look so unhappy.
As I have come to identify those tasks that do not add to my productivity, I have been able to reduce them to the 15 minute portion of my 45/15 hourly balance that I try to keep. I do not ignore them or leave them undone. I just try to force myself to do them quickly and get on with more important things.
I find that by identifying those tasks that are less productive, and by applying the 45/15 division of time that I am trying to work on, I feel like I am making progress. Measuring how it affects the bottom line is more difficult. How it affects my feelings at the end of the day is easier. It helps a lot.
I am working on a planner that uses this time break. If you would like to see an early version and/or contribute your thoughts please leave a comment here or send me an email at drrogera [at] modernmagellans [dot] com
BTW- in the post mentioned above Gina links to a very useful article, Twenty Unique Ways to Use the 80/20 Rule Today , by Scott Young. It is worth the time to read it.
UPDATE - I have been approved by Lifehacker to be a commenter.
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