The 80/20 rule - make it work for you. The Pareto principle or the 80/20 rule simply says: 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes. For time management this can be viewed as getting 80% of your results from 20% of your work.  But you know this don't you?  Think about a typical day and how much time you spend on unproductive jobs, tasks that have nothing to show for them.  Of course you do the valuable stuff too but I'll bet there's a good chance that this valuable stuff takes up a much smaller proportion of your time. And the very fact that it is valuable implies that it will probably produce results worth a lot more than the the rest of the unproductive stuff put together. Imagine how life would be if you could turn on its head the 80/20 rule and spend 80% of your time on the things that really matter, that bear fruit, that are highly valued by you and your organisation.

The secret? Prioritise and eliminate! Ask yourself constantly: Why am I doing this? What is the value? Challenge yourself: Am I doing this just because I enjoy it more than something else? Am I doing it because it is easy and I can't face the next big job?  Always check out the alternatives: Can this be done be someone else? Does this need to be done at all? And remember, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it.