I’ve always been a firm believer in the 80/20 rule. That 80 percent of your productivity (or success, or income, or just about anything else), comes from 20 percent of your effort.  The problem is, we live in a society of distraction. There’s always something "more important" coming up, that disengages our focus, and completely kills productivity.

Zen Habits posted a really interesting article this week comparing productivity to haiku. The main point is that to succeed, you must limit yourself to the essential. This very restrictive form of poetry provides a very structured format, so instead of getting distracted by form, you can focus on the art and message of what you’re writing.

With such a limited form, you cannot just use any amount of words you want to express a concept. You have to focus on one small but essential concept, and as a result you accomplish a lot with a few syllables. That’s what Haiku Productivity is.

So lets haiku for success! Write a haiku that you’ll put in your workspace. Focus on what you want to be, and where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time. Your simple poem may be the difference between mediocrity and success.  How great would it be to have a personal mission statement in haiku. Here’s mine to give you the idea:

If you come up with something, post it here. I’d love to see how success becomes poetry (or vice versa).