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PARETO'S LAW By, Surabhi Ashok

Understanding Pareto’s Law means understanding the idea that 80% of an observed consequence comes from only 20% of the potential causes. This principle deals with the observation that things in life are often distributed unevenly. Vilfredo Pareto himself found, during his study of wealth distribution around the world in the late 1800s to early 1900s, that 20% of the population in Italy owned almost 80% of the land. This theory can be applied to other concepts too like business practices. For instance, a small portion of an organization’s employees can yield and be the cause of most of the company’s profits. The most common use of Pareto’s Law though is time management. Rather than slowly decreasing in productivity when working long hours, people should instead plan and focus on the most important tasks first. When creating a schedule for themselves, one can save time and effort on the job in the long term. Remember that 80% of the output comes from 20% of the time spent at work. The best ways to use the law in regards to time management is by keeping track of one’s time, ignoring distractions, and blocking off a part of the day to work on a high priority task. This efficiency and productivity is one of the many advantages of Pareto’s Law. The theory is also a guide for the best allocation of resources, develops leadership and decision-making skills, and creates time for leisure, relationships, and everyday enjoyment of hobbies. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the principle is not universal and concrete– it is merely an observation. The 80-20 rule doesn’t always apply, and it definitely doesn’t mean that people should ignore 80% of their tasks in favor of the more important ones because that can create a bigger problem over time. It is a reflection of data of the past and not a prediction for the future.

Sources: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paretoprinciple.asp https://www.britannica.com/biography/Talcott-Parsons https://www.simplypsychology.org/pareto-principle.html

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