The secret to skyrocketing your income from low and mid-six figures to a million-plus is not working grueling 60-hour weeks. It’s a balanced, focused approach to both work and life.
It’s about earning more and working less. It sounds great. How exactly does one do that though? One answer is the Pareto principle — or the 80/20 rule.
The Pareto principle
This principle says that roughly 80% of your results come from 20% of your clients and your efforts. I didn’t learn this until I was disabled for more than a year from colorectal cancer and the complications from treatment.
At the time, I was a lawyer, and it seemed that the only way I could make a decent income was to work those 60-hour weeks. Because I could no longer work long hours due to my health, I thought my only option was to change careers. That’s how I got into working with financial and insurance professionals and coaching.
Here’s what I discovered along the way:
What works
- Identify the vital tasks. There are a few, vital tasks that always need to be done, and an overwhelming flow of the unimportant many. Figure out which tasks really move the needle for you. Stop the scattergun approach. What is required is precision.
- Prioritize quality over quantity. Instead of trying to do everything, focus on doing the vital few exceptionally well.
- Enjoy short but impactful workdays. Force yourself to make your days shorter — even consider taking an entire weekday off. While you’ll be working less time, your days will be packed with value. Stop just getting through the day. Instead, work at making the most out of every minute when you’re working.
- Schedule priorities. Important tasks aren’t just “when I get to it.” They’re must-dos, so they must be in your calendar with the same importance as meetings with high-value clients.
- Use systems to supercharge your results. Working less is good, but are you working on the right things? Over the years, I’ve helped financial advisors develop systems and strategies that have allowed them to turn their reduced hours into great, profitable practices. Among these are two that are great to focus on right now:
- Have a profitable niche
- Have a marketing system to attract only committed clients in that niche
The result?
By centering on your most impactful work, you won’t just be sustaining your business; you’ll experience exponential growth.
By being intensely focused on that crucial 20% during work hours and intensely focused on precious nonwork time in the remaining hours, you could be there fully for your family; or work on your well-being, your faith, your hobbies, pursuing your next big dream or a combination of these.
What happens to “unimportant work”?
A question I’m often asked is, “What about the 80% of what you’re calling ‘unimportant’ that still needs to be done?”
Part of your analysis will be to determine
- Does it really need to be done?
- Is there someone else who can do it?
- How can it be done most quickly and easily?
You’ll need to work hard when you are working, but you’ll have a much better life.
Sandy Schussel is a performance acceleration coach who has been working with financial advisors for more than 20 years, helping them break through to higher production levels. Contact him to learn how he can help you make selling the least of your concerns.
For more time-saving tips
- Read “Scaling your business to effectively serve more clients”
- Watch “Time-saving tips: MDRT members discuss AI” (MDRT member-exclusive content)
- Watch “Delegate: How you spend your time counts” (MDRT member-exclusive content)
