Planning: 80/20, MITs and time blocking
Step 1 / 3·The 80/20 principle and your three most important tasks
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Apply the 80/20 principle to choose work worth doing
- Identify your MITs — the most important tasks each day
- Use time blocking and estimate time realistically
The 80/20 principle and your three most important tasks
Choose the right work before thinking about working faster.
The Pareto principle (80/20) observes that roughly 20% of work produces roughly 80% of results. The numbers needn't be exact; the practical meaning is: NOT ALL TASKS ARE WORTH THE SAME. Finishing 10 small things is worth less than finishing 1 right thing.
From that comes the simplest, most effective habit: each morning, before opening email, write down 1–3 MITs (Most Important Tasks) — the ones that, if they were all you did today, would still make it a successful day.
The rule of 3 MITs
Don't write a 20-item to-do list — it only manufactures a sense of failure. Pick AT MOST 3 most important tasks and do them before the day carries you away. Everything else is a bonus if time remains.
Key takeaway: 20% of work creates 80% of results — pick at most 3 MITs each day and do them first.