Pareto Your Hair- How To Save Time On Appearance With The Pareto 80/20 Rule
(Article Note: Much of this focuses on Female Appearance, I suggest all readers understand the methodology because the examples of female appearance will explain the Pareto Principle.)
Efficiency- Michael:
Mrs. Efficiency can be hostile to change. When I was experimenting and threw in chopped spinach to an Alfredo Sauce, she outright refused until she tasted it.
Last week she was dreading straightening her hair, a 30 minute task for her thick, straight/wavy hair. After some reluctance to a new idea, we found a way to save 23 minutes.
And… Husbands, I’m sure your Wives will love to hear that you have an idea to get them ready more quickly. /s
This is a very serious reminder- Change will require buy-in, its important to understand why.
Pareto Principle- 80% Of The Problem Comes From 20% Of The Sources
I’ve begun sewing, tailoring my own clothing, and making stuff. However, I ‘half-ass it’. I rarely use pins, and I draw dots rather than connecting lines.
My first time sewing I couldn’t believe how much time I spent preparing. I wondered if it was even necessary. After a trial run of minimal preparation, my shirt came out looking great. 80% of my shirt being too big had to do with the seam location, not the stretch or straightness of the seam. 20% of what I was actually spending time on was sewing a new seam.
Pareto Principle– 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. As a Process Engineer, we used this in our plant to decide which daily problems we’d focus on.
Technically-
‘I OneFifth-Ass It’
Save Time Straightening Hair
When I look at Misses Efficiency, I see the outside of her hair, and a little bit on the inside layers. 20% of the sources cause 80% of the problems.
We tested this, only straightening the outside of her hair.
As it finished I wasn’t that impressed, I thought she’d need to straighten more. She put some sort of oily spray in her hair, combed it, and her hair looked like a model’s.
The problem wasn’t that her heir needed to be straightened, the problem was that the outside of her hair needed to be straightened.
Sure, there are probably benefits from doing another 25 minutes of work. But in 7 minutes her hair went from Bed to:
Before
After
This took 7 minutes!
Save Time On Makeup
This is a topic worth studying on its own, however I’m 1 degree away away from understanding. I am unable to spend my commute thinking about if blush adds enough color to warrant the time. Or maybe Color is one of the most important things for appearance.
Ideas for variables to change.
- Limit yourself. Pick only a few pieces of makeup to put on. Change these every morning until you find some that work
- Pick one problem to knock out. Acne? Focus only on that? Or maybe Acne isnt a big deal and skin color makes a significantly bigger impact, skip the concealer.
- Skip fine details, rush through it, but put all of your makeup on. This eliminates the ‘careful’ time, maybe if you add enough makeup, you don’t need to be careful?
Change something every morning, or practice a method when you find something optimal.
Guy Hair
Do anything.
As most men dont do anything. 1-2 minutes of work puts you into the top 20%.
If you are bald, shave.
Engineers, Tailor Your Shirts
(Optional soapbox, but my shirts look great)
Engineers, I have been playing with a sewing machine and I’m going to put the knowledge of a 19 year old girl, a few Youtube Videos, and Misses Efficiency, in our terms.
If the sewing machine isn’t working, turn it off and turn it back on. Seriously- Reroute the threads completely. An engineer designed this thing and they made it pretty easy too. The manuals are well done and have tons of pictures with great work instructions.
I watched this 4 minute video about 4 times and I learned to tailor my first shirt. The first shirt turned out great and I’ve been tailoring through my wardrobe.
Hope you guys don’t mind the super casual photos, uh… Efficiency?
What Will You Optimize?
Humans naturally take easy routes and shortcuts. However, consciously finding the 80% that actually matters will save you hours and potentially weeks of your life.