I'm so busy I'm actually doing 4 things right now - writing this blog, eating my lunch, chatting on the phone and sending reply emails!
I can tell you I'm not doing a very good job out of it and you know why? 'Cos I'm a man, not a woman. I'm from Mars, not Venus. Oh, you get it, don't you? That thing about women being experts at multi-tasking and men not so good at it?
Just this morning, my friend who faithfully read my blog since it started called up and asked what happened to me. Why did I stop blogging.
I was like, what? When did I stop blogging?
If I'm not mistaken, my last blog was posted on Tuesday, 17th June 2008 which was just 3 days ago. So what was she talking about?
OK, OK, I know they say if you want to be taken seriously as a blogger, you must post daily. Daily! Well, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't have the time!
Now, a lot of people I know don't like that last sentence. Don't have the time. What the crap is that? If you don't have time, mister, make time! It's all about time management, right? Know your priorities!
There are 101 things I need to do in a single day. No kidding. Look, I'm writing down a 'To Do' List for today. Here it is...
My 'To Do' List for Fri, 20th June 2008
1. Write a new post on my blog
2. Reply all emails
3. Drop on Entrecard members
4. Read my favourite blogs
5. Bank in my cheques
6. Mail letter and buy stamps
7. Return call to Mr. Tan
8. Get a haircut
9. Water the plants
10. Buy ink for my printer
11. Watch "Death Note" DVD (must return by tomorrow!)
12. Buy gift for Cheryl's birthday
13. Work out at the gym
14. Visit my dentist
15. Change my bedroom's light bulb
16. Iron my clothes
17. Call my insurance agent
18. Practise my piano (need to perform during Cheryl's birthday party!)
Ok, so it's not 101 things, just 18. Still, that's a lot I need to accomplish in a day, don't you think?
Hello! The above list is what I need to do in addition to my daytime job which is a MUST DO.
So how on earth am I going to tick off every item on my 'To Do' list? This is when I must make use of the Pareto Principle.
A ha!
Well, in case you haven't heard about the Pareto Principle, let me just briefly mention it. Pareto Principle states that for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Also known as the 80-20 rule, it was discovered by an Italian economist by the name of, you guessed it, Pareto.
Using this 80-20 rule, you will be surprised to find that...
20% of people in Malaysia had 80% of the money.
20% of the people in your office do 80% of the work.
20% of your customers give you 80% of your profits.
20% of the world's countries control 80% of the world's economy.
20% of bloggers who read my post won't understand 80% of what I'm blogging about.
OK, I'm just kidding on that last one.
Or I think it's more accurate to say that 80% of bloggers who drop by only read 20% of my post today. They are the Touch n Go bloggers, if you know what I mean - and I'm especially referring to Entrecard bloggers. Ha ha!
Anyway, what has all this got to do with my 'To Do' List? Plenty. Simply put, by applying the Pareto Principle, I need only to concentrate on 20% of my 'To Do' List ie. the most important ones. In other words, the ones I give priority to. It all comes back to priorities.
Unless I target the 20%, I can be wasting 80% of my time!
What I'm saying is, you can't do everything! But you can do the 20%! Let's not worry about the 80%. Because by concentrating on the 20%, you would already have made a major achievement. That's why they say average people put average effort into lots of things. Achievers put major effort into key things.
Having said that, does this mean I'll be updating my blog daily from now on?
Unlikely. The reason? I know my priorities, and I can tell you there are more important things in my life besides blogging! Posting every 2-3 days is fine with me and for the moment, let's leave it at that.
hey, i think there ARE men who can multitask! :)
oh hi, i've been following yr blog since the past few weeks. keep it up! it's ok to just post every few days... :)
i read 100% of what you wrote and understood more than just 20% woh... :P
Wow Pareto...I found the name on a chemistry journal long time ago...
You sure know how to list all simple things to do...nice...time management...hehe
I think I am going to try this. 80% of the time people don't notice I have only done 20% of the house work.
Have fun with the party!
Here's more:
20% of Malaysians only realise that BN leaders are pocketing 80% of the Petronas income
80% of the BN leaders only have 20% brains
20% of our tax money are used for public projects, 80% went to line the BN leaders' and families and cronies pockets
20% of bloggers are politicians who thinks 80% of Malaysians are reading their blogs
20% of readers in this blog and in my blog will realise we have almost similar names and comment on it, 80% won't even bother to comment
rainbow angeles, really there are men who can multitask? I don't think I'm one of them : ) Thanks for reading 100% of what I wrote, never mind the understanding part. Haha!
elvinado, what has Pareto got to do with chemistry? Pls enlighten me on that one : )
toni, that's a good one! Mine is 20% of the time people don't notice I have done 80% of the house work!
: )
foong, ha ha! Very funny. You know what? There might just be some truths in what you said. Maybe you should blog about the Pareto Principle and come up with more creative examples like these : )
hey reading yr to do list makes u so much more human :) from this day consider us friends :) i got so many this n that like u posted to do hahahahah... except that perhaps u have nobody nagging u kekekeekke
bengbeng, you mean before this, you don't consider us friends? :( but it's not too late :) Oh yes, the bliss of having nobody nagging me...lol
what? to be taken seriously one must post daily? crap.. :D do it at your own pleasure dude, just keep it consistent. it can be 2-3 post a week.. or 1 post every week.. point it, do it at your own pace and your comfort. it is never fun to blog because somebody told you to. unless you are a problogger - blogging is what feeds you. haha! those who visits your blog will get used to the frequency after a while :)
20-80 theory.. yeah :) it's applicable to many things.
ps: added you to my blogroll. keep the great posts coming man!
Professional bloggers only writes 10 or less posts per month and keep all their post very informative and very helpful. So, it is ok to write 1 post in every 2 - 3 days once.
I have noticed that those who need to write 3 - 10 posts per day is those who have attached to many paid post networks which requires them to post 2 or 3 non paid post for one paid post. So, don't compare with them.
About Multitasking
I strongly disagree humans need to multitask. We are not processors, if we can do multitask today, then our boss will ask us to do hyper treading, 2 layers job with HT, etc... just like pentium processors. Humans need to be treated like human not processors. I can see most of the MNC company's manager/team leaders/supervisors will always lecture and talk about multitasking only. I think they are best to be a robot instead of living as human. Sorry to use these words on multitasking, but sincerely, I really got angry when my ex-boss talks to me on multitask. This is one of the reason why I resigned.
I spend 3 days to come out a post and I always tell myself each post need to be informative. I read 3 times everytimes before post and make sure no spelling mistake. This is my motto. :)
foongpc, can we exchange link. I think you are good in writing, keep it up. I have added you into my blogroll. Cheers.
Hey foong..WANTED Release Date is June 27.So lets wait for it release.Ya of course she lost her glamor and coolness,but she is hot.
bongkersz and reena, phew! it's good to know that we bloggers don't have to post daily. I got this idea from some so-called blog experts who said serious bloggers post daily.
bongkersz, thanks for adding me to your blogroll : )
reena, wow! One of the reasons you resigned was because your boss told you to multitask? Well, I also don't agree to multitasking esp. when I'm not good at it! lol. Isn't it better to focus on one thing at a time? There are experts who say we must multitask, so to each his own.
kenneth, great motto you have there! Thanks for adding me into your blogroll. I did the same for you : )
totally agree on the 80-20 rules & it applies on nearly everything. there is also the 95-5 rule as well (more niche).
ive been reading a book and it does explain this much further as well :)
hei...
understand how u feel..my to-do list is damn long too..its all in my brain thought..
need to write it down before it got mumbo jumbo mix up in my head.
p/s:
u seem to be doing great w ur blog...esp the fact that u do get a lot of comments for your post.
-nurul-
http://varievirtual.blogspot.com
hi nurul, thanks for dropping by! I guess some topics attract more readers than others. But I really appreciate and enjoy reading all the comments, including yours : )