The 80/20 Rule

I hope you are all enjoying your President’s Day weekend!!  If you are in town Monday and Wednesday, we are having classes at Stanford Hills, so come on out and workout in the park with us!!

Adam and Micheline Kemist of On Your Mark in Los Altos have generously offered all Perfectly Fit clients a 15% discount on all purchases this year at their fabulous store on Main Street.  Just make sure and mention that you are a client of Stella’s/Perfectly Fit when you check out.  Adam is the absolute best at helping you find the right shoes for your feet!!

I love this MindBodyGreen post on practicing the 80/20 rule.  Focusing on the 80% and leaving 20% for flexibility can be a good way to reach your goals, without giving in to perfectionism.

From MindBodyGreen:

Ever think that living a healthy lifestyle is out of your grasp because your sweet tooth keeps overpowering your good intentions? Maybe your battle is with time and you feel like you’ll never achieve a life where everything is harmonious. I have one little tip that can help improve your life tremendously—in all areas.

Commit to the 80/20 rule. Focus on your 80%. Leave 20% for flexibility.

Here’s how it works:

1. Go for the 80/20 rule with food.

With this rule in mind, you can stay motivated and realistic. Choose healthy foods 80% of the time, or most of the time, and only indulge that sweet tooth 20% of the time or less. It’s a good place to start. When you make the majority of your food choices healthy ones, your body will begin to crave the healthier choices. By thinking about the 80/20 rule, you can give yourself some freedom and flexibility to be human, but you’ll be reminding yourself that most of your choices should be healthy.

2. Go for the 80/20 rule with exercise.

Only skip exercise 20% of the time. If you want to take a day off from exercise, that’s OK, but commit to exercising most days of the week.

3. Go for the 80/20 rule with your precious time.

Follow Stephen Covey’s advice and “Don’t prioritize your schedule, schedule those priorities.” Devote 80% of your day to your most important priorities. What things, if you accomplished them, would move the dial for you on your big goals?

Sometimes we can entangle ourselves in the little stuff, but at the end of the day, we don’t feel like we were truly productive. Start your day with the major stuff, and let go of the minor stuff until your more important priorities are accomplished.

4. Go for the 80/20 with your mind.

Work on that voice inside your head this year. Are most of your thoughts positive? While it would be fabulous to be 100% positive, 80% is a good place to start. Practice making your mind a positive place the majority of the time. Your thoughts determine how you feel—so why not choose the positive?

5. Go for 80/20 with your life.

Do yourself a favor this year and toss out that life balance concept, it can make you chase perfection which is unobtainable. Lean your life toward what matters to you most. Make sure the majority of your time is spent on what you value most. Doing so will make you happier and you will feel a sense of calm because what you value internally will match the external.

Think 80/20 this year. It’s a rule you’ll actually enjoy following!