Follow The 80/20 Rule - Pareto's Law

Although, I rarely make it through an entire book, I always try to grasp a handful of valuable lessons in the books that I do read. Below is a brief explanation of the 80/20 rule. It has come up a few times in the latest books that I've read and I am sure many of you have heard of it - but here it is for those of you who haven't.

The 80/20 rule states that 80% of your results come from just 20% of your efforts. If you can identify and focus on the 20% that matters most, you can be more productive (and impressive) without increasing your workload. Try to automate or delegate the less productive 80% whenever possible. When random emails and phone calls start pushing you off course, remind yourself of the 80/20 rule and make an immediate course correction. If an emergency arises and you absolutely need to eliminate something from your schedule, make sure it’s not part of the vital 20%.