80% is Good Enough

According to the Pareto Principle, achieving 80% of your goal often takes only 20% of your effort. As business owners (and specifically wellness entrepreneurs), you often feel overwhelmed with everything that requires your attention. So how do you use this 80% principle to get more done in less time?

Secrets of Successful Wellness Entrepreneurs

The most successful and happy wellness entrepreneurs know that if they want to get more done in less time, they have to FOCUS (Follow One Course Until Success). 

Through consistent focus, they’re able to get more done in a day, than others are in a week. 

One simple (and very effective) technique for focusing is called “timeboxing.” Think of timeboxing as setting aside a set amount of time – typically 90 minutes to 2 hours – to get a task 80% completed. 

Why 80%?

For most tasks the fist 80% is fairly straightforward and predictable. These are tasks that you’ve probably done many times in the past and don’t require much external support. 

The last 20% is where you usually run into snags. It may be a bug in your website that you can’t figure out. Or it could be figuring out how to format your flyer for your next workshop. This is where you’ll end up spending most of your time.

The secret to maintaining your momentum is in getting the fist 80% completed, then handing the remainder to someone else. That someone else could be a web developer, graphic designer, or even your virtual assistant. 

Benefits of stopping at 80%

There are many advantages to stopping at 80%. 

1. Momentum builds confidence. The more momentum you have, the easier it is to complete more tasks.
2. Your 80% is usually much better than you think. It’s easy to get into the trap of perfection. Unless you’re a brain surgeon, don’t try to get to 100% all the time. 
3. Stopping at 80% allows you focus on what you’re best at. When you do more of what you love, you increase your overall energy. And who doesn’t want more energy?!

If you want to learn more about how to benefit from the 80% principle, I encourage you to read The 80% Approach. It’s a quick read packed full of awesome actionable ideas.