The 80/20 Principle

(Originally published 12th August 2013)

In reviewing books I’ve once again come across the 80/20 concept, also known as the Parento principle.

The 80/20 principle is the idea that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

Vilfredo Pareto, noted economist and sociologist, best known for his law of income distribution, gave birth to the Pareto’s Law or the 80/20 rule. Pareto was one of the first people to analyze economic problems using mathematics. In the late 1800s, he observed that 80 percent of the land in Italy was owned by 20 percent of the population. While gardening, he later observed that 20 percent of the peapods in his garden yielded 80 percent of the peas that were harvested. And thus was born the universally accepted 80/20 rule.

Source: http://www.80-20presentationrule.com/whatisrule.html

Though originating from economics, the 80/20 rule was reinterpreted notably in 1997 by Richard Koch (from its business and economic focus) to other areas such as “time revolution” and personal happiness.

“[successful people]…spend time creatively on the few essentials and little to no time on the massive trivia that engulfs all of us, most of the time. Most life, especially most business life, is trivia. Don’t work to deal with the trivia, work to avoid the trivia.

Save yourself the one or two things each week that are really important in terms of getting results. Spend time deciding what those things are. Then work out how to deal with them. Then spend time considering and reconsidering and preparing, and then go and get to what you want.

Because, ladies and gentleman, few things really matter. But – they matter a tremendous amount. These things that really matter are often difficult to find – but once you find the few things that really matter they give you tremendous power. The power that gives you more from less. The power of the 80/20 principle.” This power lies in the one phrase:

“Finding the vital few in the trivial many.”

The 80/20 principle literally has no limits to where it can be applied. Doing some searches on Google even yielded this: The 80 20 Rule in Relationships and Your Love Life. I scanned through it and though I was skeptical at first (still am a little, really) it does make sense that sometimes 80% of frustration can come from 20% of the problems…okay yeah, I’m still not entirely convinced because it still smells of shallow writing and bullshit. I have no doubt that the 10 highlighted external articles on relationships with titles such as “How to stay in love forever” and “Things to talk about to create a perfect relationship” turned me off, even if I was skimming.

At one point I came to realise that it’s essentially a more specific version of “Work Harder, Not Smarter” – specific more in the sense of the ratio being indicative of where one’s efforts should be centred. As a result I’ve been thinking about how this applies to other aspects of my lifestyle, but I guess most specifically -unsurprisingly- on training dance. We all know that one person who we see trying hard – consistent, but never really seeming to improving at a proper pace. Chances are we’ve felt the same frustration ourselves (this being anything and everything, obviously) at one point or another – we feel like we’re giving a fair go and nothing just seems to be working.

The key isn’t only to work hard, but to work smarter. The hard thing to do at this point is obviously finding the right 20% to centre our efforts on. This, of course, isn’t usually immediately obvious – trial and error is one of those ways of discovering that 20% that will yield the most results in the least amount of time. Keeping in mind, that “20%” you choose to focus on will most probably change – factoring in increased success in the results. As you improve and increase your competency in your craft/art/activity, it is only logical to assume that standards will need to be revised according to how fast you are progressing and producing results.

Rustle, Bustle & Hustle.

(Originally posted April 6th 2014, when I was working in Hong Kong)

This is an entry about the energy of this city.

I am tentative to call this my city, though tempting it may be. How tossed up I am between claiming Sydney and Hong Kong to be my main city is a topic for another post.

I see almost everyone, everywhere, on the grind. In the mornings when I walk to the train station and past the buses, I pass the old ladies distributing free newspapers. I pass the bridge extending into the shopping centre, and in the area next to the train station are a handful of even older Chinese women spread between the pockets of metropolitan professionals en route to their offices.

There is this one woman I see almost every morning – near the entrance – she wears a dark silky shirt with floral patterning – much less graceful is the uncomfortable frontal curve of her bad back. She shuffles from stranger to stranger, her palms outstretched for a friendly paper contribution to her income. These old, frail Chinese women are still stretching their entrepreneurial muscles.

I remember it was in high school when the free newspapers began being distributed near the bus stations to queued crowds of people.

Within a few weeks of these being instantly popular, I noticed a few old Chinese women loitering near the train station gates before I realised they were collecting the newspapers (having been distributed probably a minute or two before) given to them by busy office people who got rid of their papers after scanning them while they walked between the bus station and train station gates (this distance is roughly 30-40 metres). The Hong Kong government has a waste paper collection scheme that pays per kilogram of newspaper (last reported rate seems to be $1.30-$1.50 back in 2008).

This seemingly insignificant transfer of newspaper reflects a core characteristic of what living in Hong Kong feels like. The energy of the city is often one of the most distinct to tourists.

Everyone always seems to have somewhere to go, something to do, someone to see, something to buy – and for good reason too – especially when shopping lasts until at least 10pm. I’ve always had an impressions of there being more people working hard than playing hard in Hong Kong. I’ve heard people laugh at other people trying to ask about a work-life balance in a bank, and it is somewhat funny coming from Sydney where people leave 5:30pm or earlier to a city of workaholic frenzy where leaving anywhere between 8pm-11pm can be the “norm”.

One thing that I can say is that this is the energy that I need right now, because being surrounded by driven people is always a good thing. Surround yourself with people who are better than you.

More important may be the work life balance and having the opportunity to express yourself. And avoid turning into just another suit.

Dance Practice Log 01: The Swarm of Spawn

Lately I’ve been training more outside the local PCYC. My spot is next to the cafe, directly facing the kitchen counter area which has a glass window. I use the reflection there for my upper body movements, and occasionally this results in awkward split second eye-contact with the baristas or reception staff.

There’s a children’s playground nearby, and usually a large number of children on bikes and scooters pass by. Sometimes they’ll stop by briefly, cautiously, curiously, distantly, watching from the sidelines. Occasionally one may stray near and start goofing in front of their friends. I usually ignore them, as I usually prefer to concentrate.

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A few days ago a toddler approached me – her Mum following with an apologetic smile, hunched over to ensure her child’s safety in case she tripped on the hard concrete floor. This toddler had the softest pair of bright blue eyes. She smiled and waved with those small, half-fists of hers, and I returned the gesture briefly with a smile before returning to my practicing. She got scared, turned around, and toddled back 10 seconds later with a smile on her face. She giggled, then toddled off once again with her mother in tow.

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Yesterday, a kid approached me and started imitating my down-groove, albeit with an exaggerated exuberance. My session was long (as planned: 2 hrs), so this time I welcomed the distraction.

I loosened up my posture, and joined in on the goof-off. This non-verbal cue clearly put him more at ease. His goofing soon reached a peak. “You got it!” I said with enthusiasm, laughing with him. Two of his friends (I guessed, at the time) were standing closely by – a younger boy and an older girl.

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“Do you want to learn a two step?” I asked him. He paused briefly, then continued his dizzying combination of jumping and shaking.

“He’s just being silly,” the girl said with a smile. “I want to learn!”

I went with the timing first, and then the moves and then an accented lean on each 2-count. She picked it up right away.

“You’re learning pretty fast.” I told her.

“I like this. Dancing is fun!” she said with an open smile, wider than the first.

“Yes, dancing is a lot of fun!”

I rarely use so many exclamations in my everyday speech, but kids have such a barely-contained, often infectious enthusiasm that I couldn’t help but mirror.

Clearly my voice was interpreted as welcoming to other kids within the vicinity. Within seconds, a few more kids stopped by and started listening in.

The thing with kids is once they can tell you’re engaged and actively listening, that’s when the questions – all types of random, unrelated questions – will start rolling in.

Soon I was surrounded by 8 kids, all facing me in a wavy semi-circle, launching a bombardment of questions.

My decision to welcome distraction had resulted in what was essentially now a panel interview run by 6-8 year olds.

The flood gates were officially open:

“When did you start dancing?”

“Do you have a Youtube Channel? What is it? How many subscribers do you have?” [I proceeded to show them my most popular video, a video older than them. To them, it must be ancient history.]

“Are you famous? You should be, I love your dancing!”

“Can you do a flip? Can you do a backflip? Can you spin on your head?”

“Can you do this? [proceeds to Ollie on his scooter]

“Can you do the Renegade?” [proceeds to demonstrate a TikTok dance]

“Can you play the song Sunday Best?” [suddenly, I was receiving song requests]

(And finally, my favourite) “Is this really happening? Is this real? Am I seeing this?” [arguably the Aristotle of the group]

The exchange lasted about 10 mins before the quick-learner kid surprised me:

“We’ve been asking him a lot of questions. It’s a lot,” she said to the other kids.

I laughed and told them I’d be training more often and usually come during the afternoon and that I’d see them around.

“Do you know what time it is?”

I checked my watch. “6:30,” I told her.

She turned to one of the younger kids and said “It’s time for you to go home,”

“Okay!”

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Usually I feel tired having to answer rapid-fire questions for 10 mins – but with these kids, I actually felt more energised and motivated to dance harder. And so I did.

And then I was exhausted.

Unfortunately, I still wasn’t able to sleep last night, so I decided at dawn chorus to write this post.

Until next time.

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“Only where children gather is there any real chance of fun.”  

— Mignon McLaughlin, journalist and author