Shaping your life with the 80/20 principle

I wanted to make a post of my favorite highlights from the book The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less. But as I was reading through them to choose the best ones, I found myself immersed in them.

The book hits so many areas of life, from relationships, studying and money to careers and business. I just kept reading them, instead of making a selection.

In the end, I've decided to focus on a few questions the author proposes.

They are about choosing a lifestyle we would enjoy.

Once we answer them, we might get a better idea what to pursue.

These are the highlights:

▪ START WITH LIFESTYLE
Do you enjoy your life? Not part of it, but most of it: at least 80 percent of it? And whether you do or not, is there a lifestyle that could suit you better? Ask yourself:

▪ Am I living with the right person or people?

▪ Am I living in the right place?

▪ Am I working the right hours and do they match my ideal work/play rhythm, and suit my family and social needs?

▪ Do I feel in control?

▪ Can I exercise or meditate when I want?

▪ Am I nearly always relaxed and comfortable with my surroundings?

▪ Does my lifestyle make it easy for me to be creative and fulfill my potential?

▪ Do I have enough money and are my affairs organized so that I don’t have to worry about them?

▪ Does the lifestyle facilitate whatever contribution I want to make to enriching the lives of people I want to help?

▪ Do I see my close friends enough?

▪ Is the extent of travel in my life just right, not too much, or too little?

▪ Is the lifestyle right for my partner and family too?

▪ Do I have everything that I need right here: do I have it all?

▪ Hours of work should not be dictated by social convention.

▪ The career that you and/or your partner pursue should be viewed in terms of the total quality of the life implied by that career: where you live, the time you spend together and with friends, and the satisfaction that you get from actually working, as well as whether your after-tax incomes can support that lifestyle.