Vilfredo Pareto founded the 80/20 rule in 1906, after he identified that 20% of Italian residents, dominated 80% of the wealth and it became known as the pareto principle (Loan and Mushtaq, 2023). However, Joseph Juran later changed the name of the Pareto Principle to the 80/20 rule after he observed that the idea was reliably applied to a broad range of situations and not just economic activity, which he also called the vital few and trivial many (Abyad, 2021). It is suggested that 80% of outcomes, occur from 20% of your effort. Now it is still recognised a reliable method in boosting productivity, and it can be applied to your study habits.
If you find yourself reading for hours on end in preparation for your assessments, or making little progress when revising, then this is where the 80/20 rule may be helpful. By skim-reading and then carefully selecting useful extracts, paragraphs, and chapters out of a book (20% of the text), you can gain 80% of the knowledge required to succeed. It is not about less effort, but about finding useful information that will maximise your time and assist your learning. You do not need to read a book cover-to-cover. Whilst it is good to read around subjects, it is not a good use of time to read an entire book, unless it is exceptional or of great interest. By initiating active reading strategies, like critically engaging with a smaller amount of high value texts, you will see better results in less time. It is about studying smarter, not harder.
Encourages planning by directing efforts to consider and focus on the most useful resources which helps to boost productivity.
Allows for focus on high-impact topics.
Reduces stress by encouraging study goals and minimising information overload.
Allows opportunity for reflection to consider improvements to future study habits.
Caution does need to be given when using this method as it is, arguably, difficult to identify what 20% of information is critical. It is best to use your module handbook and look for upcoming topics, as well as your assignment. There is also risk of missing important information, if reading is too restricted. If you remain mindful of these points, then studying smarter will mean that you can meet your goals more efficiently, which will help to keep you on track.
References
Abyad, A. (2021) ‘The Pareto Principle: Applying the 80/20 rule to your business’, Middle East Journal of Business, 15(1), pp. 6-9.
Loan, F. A. and Mushtaq, R. (2023) ‘Pareto 80/20 rule: A new principle for serial subscription’, Serials Review, 49(1-2), pp. 10-14.