Chill Out at Work: Reduce Stress by Applying the 80/20 Principle
This life hack reduces burnout and makes you look like a star at work.
Have you heard of the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle? It says that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
When I learned about the 80/20 principle, it blew my mind. Incorporating the principle into my work helps me focus on what matters, reduce burnout, and stop wasting time.
Below are my favourite ways to use the 80/20 principle at work.
Feel Confident
What 20% of clothing items/makeup/jewelry/accessories make you feel the most confident?
Look at your wardrobe and your beauty counter. Do you use all these items? Do they contribute equally to your confidence at work?
If you’re honest with yourself, the answer is probably “no.”
What clothes make you feel the most powerful? This could be a tailored blazer, a leather jacket, or a silver necklace. (For me, it’s my blazer and silk scarf.)
If you’re going to a job interview or a presentation, now you’ll know what to reach for.
What makeup makes you feel the most put together? This is especially helpful if you’re in a rush. (And if you don’t do makeup, no judgment, just disregard this!)
No worries if you feel 80% put together with mascara and lipstick and you’re running late. Just swipe on those two products and you’re good to go.
Stop Attending Unnecessary Meetings
Which 20% of your meetings are the most productive? For the remaining 80%, cancel them or make them shorter. Stop wasting your time!
Look at your upcoming meetings and identify the 20% most impactful — maybe your boss wants you there, or you’re presenting key insights to the team.
If an upcoming meeting won’t be impactful or productive, cancel it, shorten it, or ask someone to catch you up afterward.
I was initially intimidated and thought I had to attend all the meetings I was invited to. However, once I got over my fear, I found that declining meetings had many benefits. Nothing bad happened, I got time back in my day…and coworkers respected and valued my time since they knew I had competing projects.
If you feel awkward declining meeting invites, try these scripts:
- “Thank you for inviting me. Unfortunately, I have a time conflict. Please let me know if you need my input, and we can connect by email.”
- “Thanks for the invite. My main priority is the XYZ project right now, so I’m afraid I don’t have time to attend. I will touch base with Bella afterward for updates.”
- “Hi, I’m afraid I can’t attend the whole meeting due to conflicts but am happy to attend the first 15 minutes if that would be useful. Please let me know if that works.”
Identify Key Stressors at Work and Tackle Those First
What 20% of stressors cause 80% of your work anxiety?
Track what’s causing your work stress. You can do this through journaling, keeping a notebook at your desk, or asking your friend or partner what you complain about the most. Look for patterns.
Once you have a list of stressors, consider the 20% that cause most of your work anxiety. Are any of these within your control? You may be surprised.
For example, I was annoyed by constant interruptions at work. Coworkers stopped by my office to interrupt me several times an hour, even if my door was closed.
I tackled this issue in several ways:
- Wearing headphones when engaged in deep work.
- Communicating with my office mate about when I needed to focus.
- Leaving the office to work in a separate space for privacy.
- Being honest and setting boundaries with coworkers — e.g. “I’m in the middle of something right now, that’s why my door is closed. Can you email me instead?”
Instead of tackling every stressor I experienced, I saved time and energy by focusing on what made me the most anxious.
Your primary stressor may be a project deadline or a repeating unproductive meeting. Whatever it is, tackle that first. Can you move back the deadline? Can you cancel the unproductive meetings?
Be warned: this may require asserting boundaries. If you have difficulty setting boundaries, I highly recommend The Book of Boundaries: Set the Limits That Will Set You Free by Melissa Urban, which provides hundreds of scripts for handling tricky work and life situations.
Identify What Relaxation Methods Work the Best for YOU (not necessarily for anyone else.)
What 20% of relaxation methods lead to 80% of my stress reduction?
Everyone has different preferences for how they want to relax. Some people feel most relaxed during yoga. Others may prefer getting a lash lift, reading a magazine, talking with a friend, playing ultimate frisbee…the list goes on and on.
What helps you feel the most relaxed? Be creative!
Try incorporating your relaxation habit into your workday. For example, I feel most relaxed when I’m outdoors, so I take a walk outside every day at lunch.
Focus on the Tools that Will Most Impact Your Career Development
What are the 20% of tools will lead to 80% of your career growth?
There’s no need to learn every coding and data visualization platform—that’s a surefire way to feel overwhelmed, burned out, and inefficient.
Instead, think about what tools will help you most in your career. You can clean data in Python, build databases in MySQL Workbench, or analyze data in Power BI. Focus on the one thing you think will improve most.
Ask yourself:
- Which tools will help me the most in my day-to-day work?
- What platforms am I already using? Can I master the core functions for those?
- Which tools are necessary for the next stage in my career?
- What tools do I need to be able to put on my resume?
Final Thoughts
I’ve used the Pareto principle in many ways at work, not just the ways I’ve listed here. Be thoughtful and honest with yourself.
Ask yourself:
- Which 20% of learning methods yield 80% of my improvement as a data scientist?
- What are the 20% of coworker boundaries that, if set, would alleviate most of my anxiety?
- Does this new request align with my 20% of impactful activities? If not, can I decline it?
- Am I wasting time being a perfectionist on the less impactful 80% of tasks? Can I focus on the most impactful 20% of tasks, and not try as hard on the rest?
I hope the 80/20 principle helps you as it has helped me: to reduce work stress, overcome perfectionism, and create more time for the things that truly matter (and let’s be honest — that’s not work).
Further Reading
The Book of Boundaries: Set the Limits That Will Set You Free, by Melissa Urban
Maven Analytics Learning Data: How to Stop Being a People Pleaser at Work: A Data Analyst’s Guide by Margaret Efron
Career Contessa: 10 Signs You’re a Chronic People Pleaser — and How to Stop
Towards Data Science: How To Say No to Useless Data Science Projects and Start Working on What You Want
