A Feng Shui Tip from E. J. Shaffert, Director of London School of Feng Shui
For this week’s tip, I am going to rely on a colleague named Wikipedia, to help explain it.
Years, ago, I had heard of a business principle, that seemed to make a lot of sense to me. It is called “The Pareto Principle”
According to Wikipedia:
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Business-management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.
Interesting idea, huh? Well, here are some more references to how this might show up:
According to Wikipedia:
- 80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of its customers
- 80% of a company’s complaints come from 20% of its customers
- 80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of the time its staff spend
- 80% of a company’s sales come from 20% of its products
- 80% of a company’s sales are made by 20% of its sales staff
Therefore, many businesses have an easy access to dramatic improvements in profitability by focusing on the most effective areas and eliminating, ignoring, automating, delegating or retraining the rest, as appropriate.”
So, how does this apply to our experience of clutter?
Well, for me, the reason that clutter can seem so pernicious is that it feels overwhelming.
My first question “Where do I start?” is usually followed by a feeling of dread and wanting to run the other direction (which I used to do a lot!).
So, I have learned to apply The Pareto Principle to clutter in the home and office. I note to myself the concept that 80% of the benefit of cleaning things up will probably come from doing just 20% of the work, so I then define which I think will be the most beneficial area (the prime 20%) to handle.
And it is amazing! After only 10 – 15 minutes of focus on that most impactful area, the whole room can feel a lot better.
I have even made of game of it, and set the timer for 20 minutes, so I have just that small bit of time to attack the designated 20% of the clutter problem.
I have accepted this fact: Clutter is probably inevitable. So best to have a strategy that is fun, impactful, and efficient to get it handled.
Try it, and see what your 20% can do for you!
E. J. Shaffert is an international Feng Shui consultant, educator, and author with over 24 years experience working with a wide range of residential and business projects.
He is the director of the London School of Feng Shui and the author of FENG SHUI & MONEY: A Nine-Week Program for Creating Wealth Using Ancient Principle and Techniques.
E. J. Shaffert is an international Feng Shui consultant, educator, and author with over 24 years experience working with a wide range of residential and business projects.
He is the director of the London School of Feng Shui and the author of FENG SHUI & MONEY: A Nine-Week Program for Creating Wealth Using Ancient Principle and Techniques.
Thanks, I think we can apply this to other areas and it seems like a good path to reach the decluttering tipping point (where you love doing, it want to continue more and more and love the openess and lighter emotions as a result)
Hi Kare,
I agree, this is a wonderful principle to apply in many areas of our life.
And yes, from my experience, the Clutter experience does get easier!
E J