Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

The Daily Stoic for August 22nd, “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff”.

“It is essential for you to remember that the attention you give to any action should be in due proportion to its worth, for then you won’t tire and give up, if you aren’t busying yourself with lesser things beyond what should be allowed.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 4.32b

The Pareto rule, named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, affirms that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This rule, while being somewhat vague, can be successfully applied to lots of areas: business, money, customers, even your personal life.

In business, usually means that 80% of your income comes from your “best” customers, that are roughly 20%. Then, there’s a remaining 80% that bring you more problems than money. I can certify that this rule applies surprisingly well to most micropreneurs, solopreneurs, and freelancers.

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

So that leaves us with an interesting conclusion: sometimes, we spend most of our time trying to satisfy a group of customers that are not giving us the majority of the income.

In our private lives, something similar happens. There are lots of things that really don’t matter to us, but we spend a lot of time on them. Obviously, there are things that we don’t like to do but are obliged to. I think it’s important to don’t allow those things to steal more time from us than needed.

But for all those small things that are not necessary, and take time from us… Well, I think it’s time to stop making them important in our lives at the cost of the things that really matter: our family, friends, our beloved ones, the time we spend enjoying things we love…

Those small things are not easy to spot, however. In my case, I’m always falling into some of them and, eventually, need to do some decluttering. Maybe for you is easier.

Conclusion

Today’s Daily Stoic, “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff”, discusses all the small things in our lives that take time from us without providing us anything valuable in our lives. It’s time to stop handing them our time.