Is 96% of what you do a waste of time?
You’ve heard of the Pareto principle, which states that roughly 80% of any result comes from 20% of the work we do to achieve it.
It is frighteningly accurate.
- 80% of car wrecks are caused by 20% of drivers.
- 80% of wealth is owned by 20% of people.
- 80% of a business’s profits come from 20% of its clients.
But if you apply the Pareto Principle to itself, 80% of 80% and 20% of 20%, you get 64/4, meaning 64% of results come from 4% of your actions.
Or put another way, 96% of what you do is a waste of time (comparatively).
Think on this. Does 96% of your day aim at fixing and re-establishing a healthy body, mind, and heart? I know my bingeing of Facebook Marketplace and The Witcher on Netflix isn’t.
In contrast, the ten minutes I spent writing out what I’ll eat this week and googling “crockpot protein recipe” is the difference between dropping fat and feeling amazing in my week vs. gaining a pound and going backwards from where I want to go.
Why is that ten minutes so powerful? Because that ten-minute plan was a catalyst action (someone, please trademark that for me).
Calalyst Action – Something that Jeff or you do that unlocks multiple following supportive actions while simultaneously prohibiting destructive actions.
Having a plan means I can now shop, cook, eat, and enjoy the right amount and quality of foods in my day. It also makes it much harder for me to eat on emotional whims or out of convenience because I don’t have a plan.
Jeffism: Having a plan is the most convenient thing you can do.
A plan doesn’t have to be super complex. Even having just a few rules to follow can set you up for success.
Smoking a joint is a catalyst for getting the munchies, eating the whole pantry, feeling terrible, and getting depressed, leading to more smoking of said joints. It simultaneously makes it hard to eat well, work out, and stay on task in the day (for most people).
Do you see how these small catalyst actions set the stage for everything that comes after them? Catalyst actions also fence in your options. You can’t see or choose options that are only available to the people who planned their lunch that day. Like Seabiscuit with his blinders on, you can’t see all the options that exist to the right or left; your options are to go forward or go forward faster.
If my day had a menu, I’d like it to have options like “Save money, get home earlier, eat that beef and veggie stew at home, and enjoy a block of dark chocolate while I pet my dogs and read.”
I don’t love a menu only telling me “Spend more money, sit in a drive-through at Sonic or Chick-fil-A, know deep down I’m going backwards, and feel like crap again tomorrow,” because I didn’t plan and make stew earlier that week.
What’s nice is that you can still choose to sit in the drive-through if you’ve planned ahead. You don’t HAVE to.
Without the 4% of calayst actions, the 96% of the rest of my day won’t happen the way I want.
And I like it when I get what I want.
