---
title: Mixing the Pareto Principle and the Parkinson’S Law
created: 2025-10-30T07:08:36
modified: 2025-11-20T18:10:26
---

Time Ferriss’s two-step synergistic approach:

1. **Use [the 80/20 principle](the-pareto-principle.md) to define your important tasks.** Ferriss emphasizes identifying the 20% of your work that produces 80% of your results. This requires eliminating the trivial tasks that consume your time with little return.
	Examples include:
	* Focus on key clients: 20% of clients often generate 80% of revenue.
	* Automate what you can’t eliminate: Delegate or outsource routine, low-return activities to free up your attention for high-impact work.
2. **Use [Parkinson’s Law](the-parkinsons-law.md) to shorten your work time.** Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. Ferriss exploits this phenomenon by setting tight, strict deadlines for the vital tasks identified in step one. This forces intense focus and prevents you from overcomplicating or [procrastinating](procrastination.md) on important work. For example, a task that might take a week can be completed in a single day under a short, clear deadline.

The combination of these two principles yields a powerful feedback loop for productivity:

* Limiting tasks to the important (using the 80/20 rule) shortens your work time.
* Shortening your work time (using Parkinson’s Law) forces you to focus only on important tasks.

# Putting the combined principles into practice

1. **Go on a [“Low-Information Diet.”](Low%20Information%20Diet.md)** Systematically reduce your consumption of unimportant, time-consuming information like [news](News%20Sobriety.md), [social media](Quit%20social%20media.md), and [emails](Batching%20Emails%20and%20Text%20Messages.md) that do not directly relate to your most critical tasks.
2. **Establish a [“Most Important Task” (MIT)](eat-the-biggest-frog-first-thing-in-the-morning.md) list.** At the beginning of each day, identify and write down the two or three tasks that are absolutely vital to complete. Focus on these first.
3. **[Time-box](time-blocking.md) your high-value tasks.** Assign a specific, and shorter-than-you-think, time block for each of your MITs. This creates an imminent deadline that forces focus and efficiency.
4. **Master the [“Art of Refusal.”](if-it-isnt-fuck-yes-then-its-clear-no-thank-you.md)** Learn to [say no](focus-is-about-saying-no.md) to requests and activities that do not fall into your high-impact 20%. Protecting your limited time is essential for this method to work.
5. **Avoid the “work-for-work’s-sake” mentality.** Recognize that [being busy is often a form of lazy thinking.](busyness.md) Your goal is not to fill an 8-hour workday, but to get your key work done and get your time back.