The 80/20 Principle is mostly applied in business. Like focusing on the 20% of customers that generate 80% of the revenue.

Very few people apply the 80/20 Principle to optimize their life and miss out on the impact it can have on their happiness.

What is the 80/20 Principle?

Known as the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 principle dictates that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort.

I first learned about the 80/20 Principle in Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek and Richard Koch's The 80/20 Principle.

Although both books focused on applying the 80/20 Principle to business, they also suggested a broader application to life.

Here are 5 different ways you can apply this simple concept to your daily experience:

House Cleaning

You can have a home that's 80% clean with 20% effort by focusing on the areas that you use the most and limiting your cleaning time. Accept that good is good enough.

Eating Healthy

You don't need to deprive yourself completely to be healthy. Stick to eating 80% healthy food and indulge in the other 20%. Eating an 80% healthy diet is much easier to maintain than a perfect diet.

Fitness

Get into shape and stay fit using compound exercises - movements that target multiple muscles. They save a lot of time and deliver multiple benefits like burning more calories and improving muscle efficiency.

Friends + Family

80% of your interactions with friends and family are trivial and don't count as quality time. Be intentional with the 20% of interactions that do all the heavy lifting and cement your relationships.

Enjoy Reading

Don't spend time reading books you don't enjoy. Zero in on the 20% of books that deliver most of your reading enjoyment. Stop reading a book that fails to engage you after the first 20 pages.