mixed media by Greg Vineyard
…And Other Unusual Math Ratios
Math can be a funny thing. Including several non-traditional concepts I offer up here.
Like “age-math.” Ask someone: “How old do I look?” and you’ll see them quickly calculating “Eek-What-Do-I-Say Math” in their heads. And there’s the ol’ “I-Relied-On-My-ATM-Receipt-For-My-Balance Math.” And let’s not forget “Weather-Forecaster Math.”
Where I grew up, a thirty percent chance of rain usually meant half that. Here, it could mean gully-washers. (But only if I leave my umbrella in the car. Which I do when I know we really need the rain. You’re welcome.) The one I monitor closely is more of a ratio. “Cat Litter Used” vs. “Fresh Litter In Bag.” A zero balance is highly undesirable.
A more useful type of arithmetic in both the business and personal worlds is the “Eighty-Twenty” principle. I was first introduced to this in the late 80’s (for those of you not quite old enough to remember the late 80’s, it was a time of great music, bad perms and acid-wash everything. If we had only known the photos would show up on “Throw Back Thursdays” on Facebook…).
This concept is about maintaining a level of “rush” incidents below a certain percentage, thus allowing all projects to successfully get through their processes and out on schedule. And the side benefits are multiple: more is learned about what causes rushes, and how to continue driving their impact downward, resulting in fewer frantic timetables.
Overtime goes down, productivity goes up, and a few more projects may actually fit on the schedule. Time is gained for training, which helps company growth. There is now time to handle actual emergencies. Crossing that twenty percent threshold appears to be the magic line.
I liken it to a traffic jam of ten Starship Enterprises (Enterprisi?) waiting to dock at a Mars-based spaceport. You know, ‘cause of all the alternate realities in this episode. Which I shall now name “Mars Times Ten.”
Two of these ships are in a hurry due to connections with otherworldly delegations, while the other eight are simply arriving at their final destination, which is Disneyland Mars, because everyone is on a highly popular Tim Burton/Disney themed spacecation. Anyway, the two ships with urgent needs are shuffled to the front, while the remaining captains adjust their timing a bit but not life-affectingly, and everyone gets to where they need to go with a minimum of fuss.
Imagine a year in the life where prioritizing, tackling and planning one’s work and life tasks yield a high percentage of manageability, where yard work and going to the dentist and dealing with vexing possessions blend just fine with pleasantries like weekends away and reading beach novels. When everything’s a rush, there’s no way to enjoy a balance. Keeping the twenty percent at or under twenty boils down mostly to disciplined scheduling.
A suggested 80-20 exercise, using the old fashioned tools of pen and yellow pad: “Top Ten Columns.” (Hey, this is Western North Carolina, we’re used to Top Tens!) Jot down ten household tasks that must get done. I don’t mean “dusting” (Although that could be a part of the much bigger topic, “Spring Cleaning.” Which SOME people should do every season. I don’t mean ME. Necessarily. OK, I do mean me.), but rather, things like “Move,” or “Open a 401 K” and “Create a Family Emergency Plan.”
In the second column, write ten goals related to personal passions. For me, that’s all art and creative project related. In the third, ten projects in one’s area of business. On paper, one can begin to ascertain how to juggle these tasks and goals, put them on a calendar, and move forward. It’s not rocket science. Um, unless “Rocket Science” is on one of your lists.
There’s an old famous quote conveying how most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. But it certainly can help to sprinkle some action on that attitude to help achieve an eighty-twenty ratio. Except for the cat litter situation. Try not to go past fifty-fifty on that one.