The Pareto Principle Guides in Prioritization

Based on the Pareto distribution and states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of the effort. Knowing this is important when deciding on what to prioritize and what to ignore.

The 80/20 principle can be effectively applied to cooking. A great way to learn how to cook is to look up recipes that can be made in 15 minutes minutes or less, or are cheaper than usual, because they prioritize the 20% that makes up 80% of the dish.

An example of this in practice is the "But Cheaper" series by Joshua Weissman. Being constrained by cost forces you to choose the most important ingredients and techniques - the 20% that provides 80% of the flavour. Following these recipes is a great way to learn how to cook.

Another example of this in practice is brewing coffee. There are many things that you can do to improve your coffee, but the 20% that leads to the greatest return of results is using whole coffee beans, grinding your beans before your brew with a good grinder, and using a good coffee brewer and method to brew your coffee.

This principle can also be applied to many other disciplines, such as project management and software development.

References

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss