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Learn Faster, Achieve More: The 80/20 Learner By Peter Hollins
The 80-20 Learner: Shortcuts to Fluency, Knowledge, Skills, and Mastery (Learning how to Learn Book 24) By: Peter Hollins
Hear it Here - https://adbl.co/3NGOSXs
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJRMVCZM
Feeling overwhelmed by information overload? You're not alone! In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get bogged down by the sheer volume of stuff we're expected to learn. But what if there was a better way?
In his book, The 80/20 Learner, Peter Hollins reveals the secrets to mastering the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. This powerful principle states that 80% of your results come from just 20% of your efforts. By applying this principle to your learning, you can achieve dramatic results in a fraction of the time.
In this video, we'll break down the key takeaways from The 80/20 Learner, showing you how to:
Identify the 20% of knowledge that will give you 80% of the results
Develop a ruthless minimalist mindset for learning
Eliminate wasted time and focus on what truly matters
Learn and memorize anything faster with the 80/20 approach
Apply the 80/20 principle to studying, reading, language learning, and more
Whether you're a student, professional, or simply someone who wants to learn more effectively, The 80/20 Learner is a game-changer. Watch this video to discover the secrets to unlocking your full learning potential and achieving your goals faster than ever before!
The link to the book: https://adbl.co/3NGOSXs
"In summary, the Pareto principle, or 80/20 rule, highlights that a small percentage of inputs often contribute to the majority of outputs. We can leverage this in learning by focusing on the vital few – the most impactful methods, concepts, and strategies. This applies to studying, reading, language learning, and memory techniques. By identifying and prioritizing these key elements, you can significantly enhance your learning efficiency and achieve more with less effort.
Remember to apply the 80/20 rule strategically, considering the unique context of each learning situation.
For a deeper dive into the 80/20 Learner and how to master this powerful principle, I highly recommend picking up Peter Hollins' book. It's available on Amazon, and the audiobook is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.
For more insights from Peter Hollins on personal development and peak performance, visit his website at bitly slash Peter Hollins.
Thanks for listening to The Science of Self. Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep improving from the inside out."
,efficiency,minimalism,book summary,productivity,Peter Hollins,Pareto principle,language learning,memory techniques,learning how to learn,
Transcript
The 80-20 Learner:
Speaker:Shortcuts to Fluency,
Speaker:Knowledge,
Speaker:Skills,
Speaker:and Mastery (Learning how to Learn Book 24)
Speaker:Written by
Speaker:Peter Hollins
Speaker:Narrated by Russell Newton.
Speaker:Chapter 1 - Living an 80/20 Life In
Speaker:1941,
Speaker:engineer and management consultant
Speaker:Joseph M. Juran became interested in
Speaker:the work of Vilfredo Pareto,
Speaker:an Italian economist and sociologist.
Speaker:Pareto had observed that around eighty
Speaker:percent of all land in Italy was owned
Speaker:by just twenty percent of the Italian
Speaker:population.
Speaker:It was Juran who took this observation
Speaker:and really ran with it,
Speaker:though,
Speaker:claiming that most things in life,
Speaker:not just property ownership,
Speaker:have this kind of unequal distribution.
Speaker:He claimed that eighty percent of any
Speaker:outcome or phenomenon is actually the
Speaker:result of just twenty percent of the
Speaker:causes.
Speaker:Juran applied this so-called Pareto
Speaker:principle to many different areas,
Speaker:including economics,
Speaker:mathematics,
Speaker:and industry.
Speaker:The principle has since been expanded
Speaker:even further to help describe and
Speaker:prescribe a certain mode of
Speaker:distribution in all matters of
Speaker:business,
Speaker:learning,
Speaker:and personal development.
Speaker:Later in his career,
Speaker:Juran himself would use this principle
Speaker:in many loose and ad hoc ways,
Speaker:describing his principle not so much as
Speaker:a law but rather a description of a
Speaker:certain distribution,
Speaker:where "the vital few and the useful
Speaker:many" share unequally in a certain
Speaker:phenomenon.
Speaker:He eventually concluded that we could
Speaker:use this principle to our benefit;
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:we naturally become more efficient if
Speaker:we purposefully focus on the
Speaker:“vital” twenty percent instead of
Speaker:the much-less-vital eighty percent.
Speaker:Today the Pareto principle as it is
Speaker:applied in popular culture is only
Speaker:distantly related to Pareto’s
Speaker:original work,
Speaker:but has come nevertheless to represent
Speaker:an important truth about how we can
Speaker:strategically focus our attention for
Speaker:maximum results no matter which area we
Speaker:are working in.
Speaker:Thus it follows that given limited
Speaker:resources,
Speaker:we should prioritize focusing on that
Speaker:twenty percent of our situation that
Speaker:will give us the most “bang for our
Speaker:buck."
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:the challenge then becomes identifying
Speaker:that twenty percent!
Speaker:The principle can be applied very
Speaker:concretely to specific issues or to
Speaker:more abstract,
Speaker:overarching concepts.
Speaker:However it’s applied,
Speaker:the idea is that by making consistent
Speaker:small efforts in the vital twenty
Speaker:percent,
Speaker:one can achieve substantial success,
Speaker:whether your goal is mastery of an
Speaker:instrument or a language,
Speaker:personal development,
Speaker:or growing a business.
Speaker:The 80/20 principle is everywhere -
Speaker:•Customer service may spend eighty
Speaker:percent of all their time managing just
Speaker:twenty percent of customer complaints.
Speaker:•Eighty percent of health care funds
Speaker:are spent on twenty percent of people
Speaker:in a population.
Speaker:•Eighty percent of a business’s
Speaker:sales come from twenty percent of its
Speaker:clients.
Speaker:•Eighty percent of people tend to use
Speaker:only twenty percent of a phone app’s
Speaker:features.
Speaker:•Twenty percent of software bugs
Speaker:cause eighty percent of all errors.
Speaker:•People wear twenty percent of their
Speaker:clothes eighty percent of the time.
Speaker:•Twenty percent of the exercises we
Speaker:do have eighty percent of the impact on
Speaker:our health.
Speaker:•Analyzing and solving just twenty
Speaker:percent of emerging issues will remove
Speaker:eighty percent of your problems.
Speaker:•Twenty percent of our relationships
Speaker:satisfy eighty percent of our social
Speaker:needs.
Speaker:•To be healthy,
Speaker:we need only eat well eighty percent of
Speaker:the time,
Speaker:can “cheat” twenty percent of the
Speaker:time.
Speaker:The focus of this book is to find out
Speaker:exactly how we can use this principle
Speaker:when it comes to learning,
Speaker:improving skills,
Speaker:absorbing new information,
Speaker:and boosting memory.
Speaker:Can this principle help us make the
Speaker:best of our skills and strengths?
Speaker:Can it improve our focus and help us
Speaker:stay lean,
Speaker:minimal,
Speaker:and on track?
Speaker:Basically,
Speaker:can it help us learn better?
Speaker:The Answer Is Absolutely YES!
Speaker:However,
Speaker:there is a caveat - This 80/20
Speaker:principle has been much misunderstood
Speaker:since the 1940s,
Speaker:and today the concept is often
Speaker:carelessly applied to situations that
Speaker:don’t really warrant it.
Speaker:Many things in life follow this
Speaker:distribution pattern—but not all
Speaker:things.
Speaker:That’s why one skill we’ll return
Speaker:to again and again in this book is
Speaker:thinking carefully and strategically
Speaker:about how to apply the principle—and
Speaker:indeed whether to apply it at all.
Speaker:What 80/20 Learning Really Means It's
Speaker:important to note that the 80/20 rule
Speaker:is a guideline and not a strict
Speaker:mathematical law.
Speaker:The percentages of causes and effects
Speaker:do not necessarily add up to one
Speaker:hundred percent,
Speaker:and the exact figures may vary.
Speaker:The rule merely highlights the
Speaker:imbalanced ratio of effort to results.
Speaker:Furthermore,
Speaker:it doesn't mean that the remaining
Speaker:eighty percent is insignificant or
Speaker:should be ignored.
Speaker:The key is not really to cheat,
Speaker:but rather to find real ways to be more
Speaker:efficient and avoid wasting time on
Speaker:actions that bring only modest
Speaker:satisfaction.
Speaker:The aim is to work smarter rather than
Speaker:harder.
Speaker:Imagine a student is trying to work
Speaker:their way through an
Speaker:assignment—they’ve been asked to
Speaker:read five long academic journal
Speaker:articles,
Speaker:but the problem is,
Speaker:they have very little time and need to
Speaker:find a way to do it fast.
Speaker:What’s the best thing to do?
Speaker:The 80/20 principle might help them
Speaker:decide that hidden in the pages and
Speaker:pages of data is the most important and
Speaker:essential information—let’s say
Speaker:around twenty percent of the total word
Speaker:count.
Speaker:They guess that this info will most
Speaker:likely be contained in the abstracts
Speaker:and concluding paragraphs,
Speaker:and possibly in the figures and diagram.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:they read these bits first.
Speaker:Then,
Speaker:if they have time,
Speaker:they later read the remaining eighty
Speaker:percent.
Speaker:They’ve successfully applied the
Speaker:80/20 principle to make their lives
Speaker:easier but also work with limited
Speaker:resources—in this case their time.
Speaker:But consider another student,
Speaker:who is trying to do the bare minimum to
Speaker:get the highest grade possible in that
Speaker:course.
Speaker:This student knows that their final
Speaker:grade is what matters,
Speaker:and that this is mostly coming from the
Speaker:score on the final exam.
Speaker:They conclude that since eighty percent
Speaker:of their results on this course are
Speaker:coming from twenty percent of the work
Speaker:(i.e.,
Speaker:the exam),
Speaker:they should focus exclusively on
Speaker:“learning the exam” and ignore the
Speaker:practical exercises,
Speaker:student discussions,
Speaker:and additional readings.
Speaker:They do this and earn around a seventy
Speaker:percent mark on the exam (which is only
Speaker:a B grade!)
Speaker:but promptly forget the little
Speaker:they’ve learned because their entire
Speaker:process has been shallow and rushed.
Speaker:They passed the exam,
Speaker:but so what?
Speaker:They learned little.
Speaker:Is this truly the most “productive”
Speaker:way to go about things?
Speaker:These two examples show us that the
Speaker:80/20 principle is a helpful starting
Speaker:point,
Speaker:but it’s really about helping us
Speaker:think more clearly about -
Speaker:•What the most important task is
Speaker:•What our absolute limits are
Speaker:•What our goals are
Speaker:•What our priority is—and what we
Speaker:don’t really care about Essentially,
Speaker:the 80/20 principle is all about
Speaker:cultivating discernment.
Speaker:When we are discerning,
Speaker:we are able to clearly see through
Speaker:noise and distraction and identify the
Speaker:material,
Speaker:actions,
Speaker:choices,
Speaker:issues,
Speaker:or outcomes that are genuinely the most
Speaker:pivotal.
Speaker:It’s about focus and deliberation and
Speaker:avoiding waste and error.
Speaker:Remember that originally,
Speaker:Pareto simply observed that land
Speaker:ownership was unequally distributed.
Speaker:However,
Speaker:this doesn’t mean that knowing this
Speaker:allowed him to predict who would be
Speaker:rich in the future and who would own
Speaker:land.
Speaker:It also told him nothing of why land
Speaker:was distributed that way,
Speaker:or how it might be changed.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:his law was purely descriptive.
Speaker:In the same way,
Speaker:knowing that twenty percent of your
Speaker:products will make you eighty percent
Speaker:of your total product doesn’t
Speaker:magically grant you the power to know
Speaker:which products those will be!
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:knowing that there are powerful and
Speaker:disproportionate causes doesn’t mean
Speaker:you are any better at identifying them.
Speaker:It also doesn’t mean you instantly
Speaker:understand how to solve the most
Speaker:impactful problems,
Speaker:even if you can identify them.
Speaker:Sadly,
Speaker:in life there is no “cheat code”
Speaker:that can spare us effort and hard work,
Speaker:but we can apply the 80/20 principle,
Speaker:along with other necessary elements -
Speaker:•Willingness to constantly observe
Speaker:and update—progress is iterative and
Speaker:evolves over time
Speaker:•Willingness to pay attention to
Speaker:process,
Speaker:rather than just being carried along by
Speaker:default habits
Speaker:•The ability to constantly trim away
Speaker:at waste and excess
Speaker:•The ability to think about our
Speaker:thinking and learn about our
Speaker:learning—i.e.,
Speaker:metacognition The 80/20 rule is
Speaker:powerful—but it needs to be applied
Speaker:intelligently.
Speaker:Studying And Learning.
Speaker:When applied to being a student,
Speaker:the principle tells us that a
Speaker:significant portion of your success can
Speaker:be attributed to a smaller portion of
Speaker:your total efforts.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:roughly twenty percent of your studying
Speaker:efforts and time may result in eighty
Speaker:percent of your exam success.
Speaker:The rest of your efforts may have only
Speaker:marginal impact on the outcome
Speaker:(“useful” but not “vital”).
Speaker:Understanding this principle helps you
Speaker:identify the key inputs that have the
Speaker:most impact and allows you to focus and
Speaker:optimize them.
Speaker:By recognizing that a small portion of
Speaker:what you learn in class covers the
Speaker:majority of your exam content,
Speaker:you can prioritize and concentrate on
Speaker:that crucial information.
Speaker:Similarly,
Speaker:you may find that eighty percent of
Speaker:your study time is spent on only twenty
Speaker:percent of the materials you're
Speaker:studying,
Speaker:indicating that you can allocate your
Speaker:time more efficiently by focusing on
Speaker:the most relevant and impactful
Speaker:subjects.
Speaker:Applying the 80/20 rule in education
Speaker:enables you to avoid wasting resources
Speaker:on less productive activities and
Speaker:instead invest your time and efforts
Speaker:into the areas that yield the greatest
Speaker:results.
Speaker:You can apply the 80/20 concept to the
Speaker:material you’re learning,
Speaker:but also to the methods and techniques
Speaker:you’re using to learn that material,
Speaker:for example - Step 1 - Create a list of
Speaker:ten study methods Think about the
Speaker:various techniques you typically use
Speaker:for studying,
Speaker:such as reading material repeatedly,
Speaker:using productivity tools like the
Speaker:Pomodoro technique,
Speaker:taking notes,
Speaker:or highlighting keywords.
Speaker:List these methods,
Speaker:and if you feel you have fewer than
Speaker:ten,
Speaker:explore and adopt additional strategies
Speaker:that suit your needs.
Speaker:Step 2 - Analyze,
Speaker:compare,
Speaker:and rank the methods Evaluate each
Speaker:method based on factors like ease of
Speaker:use,
Speaker:time consumption,
Speaker:and studying results.
Speaker:Determine which methods provide a
Speaker:better understanding of the material in
Speaker:less time and note them down.
Speaker:Similarly,
Speaker:identify methods that are
Speaker:time-consuming without yielding
Speaker:significant results.
Speaker:After analyzing and comparing,
Speaker:rank the methods based on their
Speaker:effectiveness and efficiency.
Speaker:Step 3 - Identify the top two methods
Speaker:From the ranked list,
Speaker:select the two methods that
Speaker:consistently deliver the best results
Speaker:for you.
Speaker:These two methods will be the primary
Speaker:focus of your studying.
Speaker:It’s important to let go of the other
Speaker:eight methods for now and concentrate
Speaker:solely on these two.
Speaker:By using these two methods
Speaker:consistently,
Speaker:you can accelerate your learning
Speaker:process and achieve better outcomes in
Speaker:a shorter period compared to utilizing
Speaker:other methods.
Speaker:Reading.
Speaker:Reading. a book in its entirety can be
Speaker:a daunting task,
Speaker:especially when faced with a busy
Speaker:schedule or a long reading list.
Speaker:However,
Speaker:by applying the 80/20 principle and
Speaker:adopting a strategic approach,
Speaker:you can extract the most valuable
Speaker:insights while optimizing your reading
Speaker:time. The principle can be applied
Speaker:like this - Eighty percent of the
Speaker:factual value in a book can be gleaned
Speaker:from twenty percent of its content.
Speaker:You can guess the limits to this,
Speaker:however.
Speaker:There is no way to adequately
Speaker:“summarize” fiction—in the same
Speaker:way you don’t just watch the first
Speaker:and last five minutes of a movie to get
Speaker:the gist!
Speaker:But the 80/20 rule works well with
Speaker:books that are purely data-based—for
Speaker:example,
Speaker:manuals and textbooks.
Speaker:Prioritize and skim - Start by reading
Speaker:the conclusion or last chapter of the
Speaker:book to understand the author's main
Speaker:arguments or conclusions.
Speaker:Then skim through the entire last
Speaker:chapter to grasp the overall message.
Speaker:This will give you a clear idea of what
Speaker:the author is trying to establish.
Speaker:Highlight key passages - As you read,
Speaker:use colored pens to highlight key
Speaker:passages that encapsulate the main
Speaker:arguments or provide excellent examples.
Speaker:Look for the overall structure and
Speaker:outline of the book (reading the
Speaker:contents page can help)
Speaker:to get an overview of the material.
Speaker:This not only helps you retain
Speaker:important information but also allows
Speaker:for easy reference in the future.
Speaker:By focusing on these highlighted
Speaker:sections,
Speaker:you can reread the book much faster
Speaker:without going through the entire thing.
Speaker:Selectively explore - After reading the
Speaker:conclusion and skimming the last
Speaker:chapter,
Speaker:read the introduction to understand the
Speaker:author's intentions and where they are
Speaker:heading.
Speaker:Dip into the rest of the book
Speaker:selectively based on your interests and
Speaker:needs.
Speaker:You can choose to read only the
Speaker:chapters relevant to your objectives,
Speaker:such as finding evidence or gathering
Speaker:examples,
Speaker:or you may decide to explore specific
Speaker:chapters that contain original and
Speaker:highly interesting material.
Speaker:This approach allows you to save time
Speaker:and focus on the most valuable parts of
Speaker:the book.
Speaker:It’s always worth having a clear
Speaker:understanding of why you’re reading a
Speaker:text before you read it.
Speaker:Prepare yourself with some targeted
Speaker:questions to cue more focused reading.
Speaker:Learning Languages.
Speaker:The 80-20 approach in language learning
Speaker:allows you to rapidly reach a level
Speaker:where you can effectively communicate
Speaker:and understand crucial concepts without
Speaker:relying on an extensive vocabulary.
Speaker:Any language contains hundreds of
Speaker:thousands of vocabulary words,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:but a relatively small group of these
Speaker:words get used the most—approximately
Speaker:twenty percent.
Speaker:Applying the 80/20 approach to language
Speaker:learning could mean,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:focusing on a curated list of the most
Speaker:commonly used words first,
Speaker:rather than on more unusual or uncommon
Speaker:aspects of the language.
Speaker:Or,
Speaker:if you intend to use the language in a
Speaker:particular setting (for example,
Speaker:work),
Speaker:you may deliberately focus on those
Speaker:phrases that are most likely to help
Speaker:you get things done in your unique job,
Speaker:rather than on random expressions like
Speaker:“I’d like to buy a postage stamp”!
Speaker:Memory.
Speaker:The 80/20 principle can enhance your
Speaker:learning and retention by forcing you
Speaker:to focus on the most important
Speaker:information.
Speaker:In the context of memory,
Speaker:the principle suggests that a
Speaker:significant portion of the information
Speaker:we encounter is trivial or irrelevant
Speaker:detail.
Speaker:In contrast,
Speaker:a smaller portion holds the key to
Speaker:understanding and retention.
Speaker:By identifying and prioritizing this
Speaker:vital information,
Speaker:we can optimize our memory capacity and
Speaker:cognitive resources.
Speaker:Identify the most important information
Speaker:by prioritizing the crucial facts,
Speaker:figures,
Speaker:and concepts that you need to learn.
Speaker:It’s even better if you can identify
Speaker:unifying principles behind these
Speaker:smaller facts.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:if you're studying history,
Speaker:prioritize the most significant events,
Speaker:influential figures,
Speaker:and key dates that have had a major
Speaker:impact.
Speaker:Use visuals to synthesize information
Speaker:in one place—it’s far easier to
Speaker:remember a single data-rich diagram
Speaker:than it is to remember pages and pages
Speaker:of low-density written information.
Speaker:The key is to be organized.
Speaker:Break down the information into smaller
Speaker:chunks and organize them in a way that
Speaker:makes sense to you.
Speaker:Utilize mnemonic devices,
Speaker:acronyms,
Speaker:and mind maps—for example,
Speaker:when memorizing a list of items,
Speaker:create a mind map by associating each
Speaker:item with a visual image or connecting
Speaker:them through a story (more on this
Speaker:technique later).
Speaker:The visualization and storytelling
Speaker:techniques will help you remember the
Speaker:items in a structured and memorable way.
Speaker:This has been
Speaker:The 80-20 Learner:
Speaker:Shortcuts to Fluency,
Speaker:Knowledge,
Speaker:Skills,
Speaker:and Mastery (Learning how to Learn Book 24) Written by
Speaker:Peter Hollins
Speaker:Narrated by Russell Newton.
