20/80 Rule says “Get Up and Get Out”

by Lev Rothenberg

The 20/80 Rule is well known in business, but it is equally important in life.

The rule says that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your effort. Of course, that is on average, hence a rule and not a law.

A group fitness class at the JCC

What this tells us is that we should look at the 20 percent of our effort that yields us results. If we can concentrate on those areas, think how much more we could accomplish.

Now, let’s look at our “free” time.  Are we spending that time in a manner that yields us the finest results in the area of relaxation, health, mental stimulation, and creating meaningful memories?

A Nielsen study recently revealed that the average American spends 34 hours a week watching television. What if we switched just 1/3 of that to more creative, active activities?

But what are some alternate ways to spend that TV time? 

Gardening, working out, seeing great art, dancing, cycling, swimming, spending time with friends, taking classes, reading, going to stimulating programs are all great opportunities. Interestingly enough, you can find them all at the JCC.

In particular, consider our autumn ACE (Katz Adult Continuing Education) classes, which are just beginning. Among other things, you can learn how to play guitar, save a life, scribe calligraphy and become social media savvy.

If formal classes aren’t for you, our 15th Annual Ann Katz Festival of Books and Arts is an education in and of itself. The event is coming soon on October 28.

So, respect the 20/80 Rule and better respect your personal time, including spending more of it with us here at the JCC.

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