How to Stop Procrastinating: a simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit

Action #2: Apply the 80/20 Rule to Your Schedule
The 80/20 Rule, originally mentioned by Italian economist Vilfredo
Pareto, says that 80% of your results often come from 20% of your
efforts. So only a handful of your tasks will produce any sort of
measurable result.
This rule can be applied to
 any
industry or business. For example, 80% of
revenue is generated by 20% of the salespeople; 80% of complaints come
from only 20% of customers; and 80% of highway traffic is funneled
through 20% of the roads.
My point here is that, no matter what tasks and obligations you need to
do weekly, there will 
always
be a handful that produce extraordinary
results. A few strategies will work well while everything else will be a
waste of your time.
You can apply this to procrastination by structuring your schedule in such
a way that you focus 
only
on just the actions that generate a significant
result and proactively ignore almost everything else.
During a weekly review, take a few minutes to carefully consider the
answers to these questions:
What tasks are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?
What core activities have the biggest impact on my career?
What experiences produce 80% of my fulfillment and happiness?
Who are the people that cause 80% of my enjoyment and make me
feel truly engaged?
Who are the 20% of people who cause me to feel angry, unhappy,
and unfulfilled?
What habits make up 80% of my efficiency or effectiveness?
You don’t have to ask all these questions every week. But they should

---

always be in the back of your mind when you’re creating a weekly
schedule. If you get busy, you can simplify everything by asking one
simple question: “Does this task help or hinder my ability to work on one
of my five goals?”
Be honest with yourself here. Your time is a finite resource. Every minute
spent on a time-wasting activity is one less minute that you have for your
goals. If you feel something takes away time from those crucial goals,
then avoid doing it at 
all
costs.
Remember: never let other people’s priorities become your own.