The 80/20 Rule

Okay, so is the 80/20 rule new to just me? Seems like everyone around me has already heard a version of it.

My sister and I were talking about efficiency, and she said she'd heard (and tried to follow) a rule that says for any project (or study-time for that life-and-death Calculus exam), you should try to be 'focused and efficient 80% of the time, with 20% of your time being set aside as your 'breaks'. That way you are concentrating your focus in shorter periods of time, and consciously letting yourself 'breathe' during the process. In theory, this helps your mindset, because you know the work-time is finite, and my sister swears that this trick helps you keep up the pace of things through, oh...say, an entire semester. Even one that involves a math class.

Hmmm. Very interesting...

There's other versions of this rule out there, too, but apparently a popular one (it's even named for an Italian economist from back in 1906!) is described here:

Management.about.com

It says a lot of stuff in this article (time-management attempters may wish to skip it), but the jist of Pareto's Principle is that typically 80% of unfocused effort generates only 20% of results. And on top of that, 80% of your day is filled with trivial things that should not be wasted with your best efforts. "Of the things you do during your day, only 20 percent really matter. Those 20 percent produce 80 percent of your results. Identify and focus on those things."

Oooh...also interesting. Although I may be confused on the math part. So am I supposed to spend the (most) crucial 20% of of my day with 80% effort? Or am I supposed to be giving 100% 20% of the time? Or does that mean that somehow I should have about 80% of my day free even though I feel like my schedule is 100% against me?

I think I may have to look at this more once I'm out of my math class, which I swear is frying my brain. Or maybe my time management skills aren't ready to handle Calculus and Italian economists at the same time...

Some Really Helpful Places

Okay. So I mentioned how I've been browsing the web looking for advice, right? Well here are some great places to look for help if you're 'Time-Management-Challenged' like me:

• studygs.net (a good site for students)
• ezinearticles.com
• timemanagement.com (better for office management...)
• blog.penelopetrunk.com

(I also started a running list of helpful links at the bottom of this site.)

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And if you've read this far into my blog and aren't sure you're as desperately pathetic as me (when it comes to managing your time), here's a way to find out: Take a Time Management Quiz!

• One simple/quick quiz is here: www.ucc.vt.edu (Out of a possible score of 10, I got 3. Yup, that's about right.)
• Perhaps a better one is here: www.mindtools.com
• Another really a good one is here: www.effective-time-management-strategies.com (And with this quiz I scored an 'Ouch.' Not pretty.)

Actually, you can get some good hints and tips about what you 'shouldn't' be doing by doing these quizzes. ~~Or you can realize that during the time it took to hunt down these quizzes and take them, you could have been accomplishing something of a higher priority on your To-Do list.

Um, I think a light just went on in that dusty brain of mine. Oh, well, while I'm wasting time, at least I've been finding really interesting quizzes online - of all kinds - including this fun little one: The Time-Waster's Quiz. Just enter your first name and then ask yourself...

Your tomato plant begins to grow teeth and claw-like appendages.One day, you notice it chasing the dog around the house. What do you do?

The Big Picture

Last week was horrible. All-nighters to finish homework, last minute cramming for Math tests, hitting the 'Submit Assignment' button on practically the last minute, and feeling as though I could use another 12-or-so hours of sleep... So I thought it was time to start figuring out a better way to do things. First step? Put down my 6 page 'To-Do' list (that I've been staring ineffectively at for the last hour). Second step? Browse the web for advice...

If I was overwhelmed by my gigantonormous 'To-Do' list, I don't think Googling 'Time Management' helped. 430 million results. Sheesh. Well, at least I'm not the only one with issues.

In reading through site after article after blog after everything else, I've come to a few conclusions:

1. Time Management means different things for different people; it's all about where your priorities are and what you're trying to accomplish.
2. Because your own personal priorities may be different from other peoples', a lot of the advice on the web contradicts other peoples' advice. (Some people are pro-multi-tasking, others say it's counter-productive, that sort of thing...)
3. Self-control is a good thing. (Yes I can walk away from Warcraft...)
4. Organization is a good thing. (I can also sort the mail instead of throwing it on the floor. Now if I could just find the file-box that I put my sorted mail in...)
5. To-Do lists are a good thing. But only if you use them right: One must prioritize.

All in all, priorities were the major theme. Are you trying to finish all assignments on time? Trying to have more time with loved ones? Trying to get that promotion? It's important to define what that overshadowing goal is. Then decide what is it that you're willing to temporarily shove to the side in order to make that happen. (Again with the self-control. Sacrifice is a good thing. Dammit.)

Later I think I'll start a list of some of the good sites I've visited. But for right now, I think the thing I need to do is ask myself that one really big question - the one that makes everything else moot without it: "What is my priority?"

(I'll put that at the top of my 'To-Do' list.)

Holiday, anyone?

So today is Labor Day, and I was wondering what everyone else was doing with their 'day off.' As one who is fairly new to this concept of time management, I am trying to be more conscious of how I spend mine, so I thought I'd compare activities.

Around Salt Lake City today there were lots of possibilities, like "Miner's Day in Park City," Snowbird's "Oktoberfest," an "Antelope Island Stampede," and the Timpanogos "Storytelling Festival" (all listed on About.com). Defying the local offerings, my sister headed out of town for some end-of-summer family bonding, but for others the stay-at-home-barbecue theme seems extremely popular.

Elsewhere around the nation, parades, fun-runs, fireworks, and festivals are taking place, drawing lazy people out of their houses and plying them with food and entertainment. It seemed like today was the perfect day to not think about 'Time Management.'

(Which is pretty much what I did, sleeping in late and then hitting the 'Labor Day Sales' at the mall.)

So from a 'TM' standpoint (and keeping in mind that I have not actually found or implemented any time management strategies thus far in this blog), were we all just a bunch of time wasters today? What should we have been doing?

(And is it apparent yet that this blog is a direct result of my overactive guilt?)

I looked around the web to find the reason we have the day off in the first place, and it seems Labor Day started in 1882 as a movement to recognize the efforts of the average working man." Working conditions way back when were pretty bad, what with the 12 hour workdays, no minimum wage, child labor and no workers' comp.

In fact one of the main purposes to this holiday was to get people (employers, specifically) to realize what the working norm should be, and that limits to pushing ourselves must be set. Along with this, rest and relaxation are "very important to our wellness and health. If you are working too hard ...and don't get enough rest, you compromise your immune system and open the door to illness and disease. As important as work is to our lives, slowing down is imperative, too. It makes perfect sense that our bodies and minds require rest after periods of hard work."

Wow. So our purpose today is to not work. I like it! Seems I've got the right idea, along with the rest of the nation. Slackers rejoice!

(Oh, and that's the rest of the nation except President Obama, apparently. It seems the WFIE.com is reporting that the President spent Labor Day with union workers in Milwaukee, talking about unemployment. Hm. Overachiever.)