The 80/20 Rule: Work Less, Achieve More

Most people are busy, not effective. A few calm, focused moves can change your year.

A true story about trying too hard

Alina Shahnazari shares a scene that feels painfully familiar. She watches birds get trapped under a patio ceiling. They flap harder, panic more, and go nowhere. The solution is not more force. It is softening, seeing clearly, and finding the open sky that was always there. “Stop trying so hard, relax and surrender,” she writes, because this is how we notice the path that was hidden a moment ago. Pushing to exhaustion blocks creativity and blinds us to better routes. In her experience with high performers, “easy, calm and calculated moves do the trick” when you are building something that lasts .

That is the spirit of the 80/20 rule in Who Do You Want to Be? The rule says most results come from a small portion of effort. Alina adds the missing piece: results come faster when your efforts are aligned with who you want to become, not with old patterns that are keeping you stuck. When you stop fighting the current and start choosing a few right moves, your life gets lighter and more effective at the same time .

What the 80/20 rule really asks of you

The book’s quiet revelation is that the 20 percent that creates most of your results is not random, it is identity-led. Decide who you want to be, then pick the smallest set of actions that prove it. Alina calls imagination a superpower, noting that your subconscious “does not know the difference between reality and imagination,” so you should “think good thoughts” and rehearse the future you want until your body begins to act like it is already true . This is not wishful thinking. It is training your inner system to notice, choose, and repeat the few moves that actually carry you forward.

In simple words: decide, imagine, then act like the person who matches your vision, beginning today .

The golden nugget

Your best 20 percent is the handful of actions that are both high impact and true to you. When your small moves match your future identity, they multiply. You stop pouring time into tasks that only look productive, and you start doing the quiet work that actually builds your life. Alina has seen this pattern up close with successful people. They do not live in burnout. They work in focused bursts when needed, then return to steady, intelligent rhythms that protect their energy and attention. Most busy work can go, and the outcome gets better when you stop forcing it .

Why your 20 percent hides, and how to find it

Hidden blockers are real. If you have tried your best and still cannot move the needle, Alina points to limiting beliefs absorbed before age seven, and reinforced by our environment. These beliefs whisper “I am not good enough” or “I do not deserve success,” and they quietly sabotage progress. The good news, she says, is that these are thoughts, not truths, and they can be changed. “Without removing the weeds from inside, we cannot see the seeds of our desires flourish” .

Two practical truths from the book help you uncover your 20 percent:

Your mind shapes your actions. Thoughts you feel deeply become your body’s marching orders. Choose thoughts that “serve you and your future,” because your subconscious takes emotional thinking as reality and looks for ways to make it true .
Your attitude is a magnet. A designed attitude, grounded in gratitude and clear boundaries, attracts the right work and relationships. Say no to what distracts you, say yes to what aligns with your deepest desires .

Identity first, then strategy

Ask yourself, out loud: Who do I want to be in one year? Picture it like a short scene, not a vague idea. This is not fantasy, it is programming. When you imagine vividly while calm, your brain starts wiring new pathways that match your future. Your subconscious then “finds the right moves, the right places, the right people and the right opportunities,” almost like radar, because you have given it a job it understands .

Now turn that picture into a short list of actions real people like that actually do each week. Your 20 percent is in that list.

A simple 80/20 filter you can use today

Identity snapshot: Name the version of you that feels honest and exciting, like “calm founder,” “patient parent,” or “diligent student.” Then write one sentence about the attitude you will bring. Attitude is how you think, feel, and act together, and it can be designed on purpose .
Proof in the real world: Pick two outcomes that prove you are becoming that person, such as two deep client projects this quarter or three unhurried family dinners each week.
Actions that cause those outcomes: List the actions that directly create those results. Keep the top three to five. Schedule them first.
Energy check: If an action creates constant anxiety or feels off, pause and ask whether a limiting belief is blocking you. Then use a gentle practice like self-hypnosis to relax, visualize the person you want to be, and speak simple truths, such as “I am calm, I am a good communicator.” Repeat for 15 minutes a day for a month to rewire your inner settings .

A better story for effort

Alina is a “big believer in the 80/20 rule” for goals and dreams, and she has seen how overwork often backfires. The outcomes would have been the same, sometimes better, if she had skipped the busy work, rested more, and focused on what mattered. The people she studied kept their center. They used short sprints at the right moments, then returned to steady, sane routines. “Easy, calm and calculated moves do the trick” captures it perfectly .

Here is the overlooked truth: rest, presence, and openness are not luxuries, they are productivity tools. When you relax and accept where you are, you see more paths. When you stop trying to control everything, your creativity comes back and you notice routes that were invisible a few minutes ago .

How to spot and remove the “busy work”

Many of us confuse urgency with importance. Alina calls the overload of tasks a trap that pulls us away from our real destination. The fix is to design your day around a few high-leverage moves and give yourself permission to say no to the rest. Setting boundaries is not selfish, it is wise. People with a healthy attitude “say no to anything that does not serve them” and yes to what supports their deepest desires .

Try this weekly:

The Pareto Sweep: List what you did last week. Star the few items that clearly produced real outcomes like revenue, learning, health, or deeper connection. Circle the top three. Do more of those, and automate, delegate, batch, or drop the rest.
Calm Rehearsal: For five minutes each morning, visualize the outcome you care about and let yourself feel it. Your subconscious responds to emotion, so make it vivid and kind. Then do one small action that matches that picture today .

When “failure” is feedback for your 20 percent

If you keep hitting walls, Alina suggests four honest checks. Two of them are key for 80/20:

The idea might not be your true desire. If your target does not match who you want to become, you will self-sabotage. Go back to the vision that lights your heart. Without that alignment, success will feel hollow and short lived .
Your approach may be wrong. Step back, rest your mind, and reflect on why your method did not work. Failure often contains the lesson that unlocks your next move, but only if you pause, learn, and adjust before you rush back into motion .

And sometimes, the environment is the issue. Seeds need the right soil, sun, and protection from wind. Ideas do too. Clear out negativity and surround yourself with support so your seed can take root and grow .

Heal the beliefs that waste your effort

Many people chase shiny metrics because mass media and the internet have hypnotized us to consume and compare. We forget ourselves, and we call it normal. Alina’s reminder is gentle and firm: the only world you control is your inner world, your thoughts, your body, your focus. Shape that world, and your outer life will follow .

If money fears run you ragged, notice the belief behind them. Money is a tool, she says, an amplifier of who you already are. Learn, invest, and be of service to more people. Anxiety makes results worse. “Easy does it” applies here too. You do your best work when you are steady, clear, and useful to others .

Small tools for big change

Daily intentions: Before screens and tasks, reconnect with your vision. Set one clear intention for how today moves you closer. Do not overwhelm yourself. If you have to push too hard, it is likely not for you. Save hard pushes for short sprints at the finish line .
Two-minute starts: Lower the resistance. Begin with the tiniest version of the high-impact task, then let momentum carry you.
Attitude design: Write down the kind of attitude that supports your vision. Decide how you will think, feel, and act, and which values you will not compromise. Boundaries protect your best work .
Self-hypnosis for blockers: Lie down, breathe slowly, relax your body, and imagine your future self with clear traits like calm, clarity, and confidence. Repeat daily for at least 30 days to retrain your subconscious to support your path .
Imagination practice: Remember, your subconscious treats emotionally charged imagination as real. Use that power wisely, and often, to make your desired future feel familiar to your mind and body .

What a focused day can look like

First 90 minutes, one high-impact move: write, design, plan, or sell, the task that creates most of your results.
Midday, brief admin and a short walk: your nervous system needs rest to stay creative.
Early afternoon, a second focused block: refine, rehearse, or analyze.
Late afternoon, plan tomorrow’s one big move, then stop. Remember, less noise, more signal. This is how you stay consistent without burning out, and how you let your subconscious work for you even when you are off the clock .

What to do when life gets messy

Life will sometimes spin. When it does, your 20 percent gets even smaller. Pick one output that matters today, one act of care for your body, and one sincere connection with someone you love. Then rest your attention. This kind of surrender creates space for insight, and insight reveals the next simple step. That step is enough.

Try this today

Write two sentences that name who you are becoming: “I am a calm creator who ships meaningful work weekly. I am a present partner who leaves room for joy.”
List three actions that make those sentences real this week. Put them on your calendar first.
Let go of one task that looks important but does not move your life. Feel the relief. That space is where better ideas land.

“Decide what kind of life you truly want, use the power of your imagination and start becoming the person that matches your vision… beginning today” . And as Alina says of real progress with the 80/20 rule, do not ignore the simple wisdom: most of the time, “easy, calm and calculated moves do the trick” .

When you look back a year from now, which small, steady 20 percent will you be grateful you chose, because it changed everything?

80/20 Rule: Work Less, Achieve More with High-Impact Actions