The 4% of Hell Yes! For Happy Hyper Focus
Read Time: 2 min
Build your own minimalist business with these two rules.
Using the 80/20 rule together with the Hell yes! Rule to maximize efficiency and happiness.
How I unleashed hyper-focus through minimalism and essentialism.
I got into minimalism when I started my studies at Kyoto University in Japan.
Living in Japan was expensive for a student, and travelling with loads of stuff was annoying.
So, keeping my costs and possessions minimal was great.
The more I reduced the stuff I owned, the lighter my mind felt.
Before minimalism, moving apartments was a major project.
It takes weeks of planning and a lot of costs for transport.
With minimalism, I could pack my stuff and move it to another place in less than a week.
I'm a nomad today, and my life fits into a carry-on suitcase and a small backpack.
I'm packed within 20 minutes.
But minimalism wasn't always good for me.
At some point, I took minimalism to the extreme, refusing to spend money on anything.
I would tell my friends I couldn't meet them because eating out once every three months was too expensive.
This is where the Essentialism book by Greg McKeown saved me.
In essentialism, just as in minimalism, the focus is on less is more.
The difference lies in how you decide on what to keep.
As a minimalist, I cut costs and possible future spending in my business and life to maximize profit.
As an essentialist, I cut down on everything that is not essential to me or my business.
This is where the 80/20 Rule (or Pareto Principle) comes into play.
In every project, 20% make up 80% of the result.
And vice versa, 80% of that only contributes to 20% of the result.
Using this rule, I minimize my efforts while maximizing the results.
For me, essentialism is a better version of minimalism.
Imagine what you can do with 80% of your time freed up!
We're done maximizing our efficiency.
Or are we?
When I read Matt Gray's newsletter a few weeks ago, he talked about the 4% rule.
What happens when we apply the 80/20 rule to the 80/20 rule?
We're left with the 4% of effort, which makes up 64% of the result.
Incredible!
Peak efficiency. Done.
Wait, there is more!
Essentialism isn't about reaching my goals most efficiently.
Essentialism is about maximizing my fulfillment by focusing on the essentials.
Here is how I maximize my fulfillment:
With the 4% rule, I create a list of tasks most important to reaching my goals.
Then, I ask one simple question about each item on the 4% list.
Do I want to do this?
Hell, yes! or No?
This is what I call the Hell, yes! Rule.
If it is not a Hell, yes! it is a no.
Life is too short for “maybes” or “OKs.”
If I want to live a fulfilled life, I must surround myself with only the things that matter most to me.
I don't waste time on things I don't want to do.
These things can be done by someone who likes doing them.
This forces me to delegate because not everything I need to do is something I like doing.
This is why I write a newsletter and blog instead of following the social media hustle.
This is why Ali Abdaal is doing YouTube videos.
This is why Tim Ferriss wrote a book.
Why did you start a business?
And why are you doing the tasks you're doing now?
Now you know how I focus and build my minimalist businesses.
I apply the 80/20 rule to the 80/20 rule to find the most efficient 4% path to my goal.
Then I apply the Hell yes! Rule to do only what's fun.
Build a system with these rules to create a great life experience on auto-pilot.
The essential bit that will be left over is different for every person.
So, what is the most essential thing you could be doing right now?
What are the essential things to grow your business?
Shoot me a message on Linkedin. 😉
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Thanks for reading to the end!
You rock!
Cheers,
Marcel