1. Cathryn Urquhart
BJuris LLB
cathrynu@bigpond.net.au
“Vital Few and trivial many”
TIME MANAGEMENT
• Would you believe that 80% of your results are achieved with 20% of your effort?
• It follows that all time is not equal. It does not follow that large amounts of unfocussed effort will bring great results.
• Excellent time managers identify what is really important and focus their energy on those tasks.
• Identifying what is not critical but time consuming and eliminating/delegating/automating/ignoring those tasks, frees the
professional to get on with the work that brings the results.
• For professionals who charge by the hour, eliminating unimportant unbillable tasks, maximizing focus on billable work and
reducing time write-offs is essential.
• Approaching the daily to-do list with an 80/20 attitude means that you will focus on the work that is essential, profitable
and gives the “80%” of results.
• And remember that not all unbillable work is unimportant. Client relationships, networking, marketing and training are all
part of a professional’s life but how to allocate time and resources is easier when you follow the 80/20 rules.
• Rule 96 refers to the 96 minutes in your day which are the most critical ie the 20% that give the 80% result. This time
should be devoted to the major task of the day, undisrupted by phonecalls, emails or meetings.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
• 80% of problems can be attributed to 20% of causes.
• As a rule of thumb, 20% of clients bring in 80% of profits. 80% of complaints come from 20% of clients.
• Identifying who are these clients and how you manage dealings with them is essential.
• Further, 20% of staff create 80% of HR problems.
THE 80/20 Principle
in the office
The Pareto Principle states that for many events
roughly 80% of effects comes from 20% of the
causes.
This Principle has been applied in Science,
Economics, Health and Business. But how can we
apply it in the office, particularly around Time
Management for maximum effect?