You’ve no-doubt heard of the Law of the Vital Few. It’s the 80/20 rule, which states that roughly 80-percent of the results come about from just 20-percent of the energy.
你肯定听说过“关键少数法则”。它就是所谓的 80/20 法则 ，该法则指出，大约 80%的结果来自于 20%的精力投入。
What you end up with is the idea that your initial 1-percent of energy spent brings about the first 50-percent of results.
最终你会明白，你最初投入的 1% 的精力会带来 50% 的成果。
That 1-percent of energy spent reaps a dispraportionate result. Tim Ferris calls it the Minimum Effective Dose.
这 1%的精力投入却能带来不成比例的效果。蒂姆·费里斯称之为 “最小有效剂量” 。
In his book, The One Thing, Gary Keller writes that “success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right.”
加里·凯勒在他的著作《 最重要的事》 中写道：“成功在于做正确的事，而不是把每件事都做对。”
If there was one thing you could do that represented roughly 1-percent of your time and energy. And if that one thing was a cause for the intial half of the results you’re seeking. Then it’s safe to say that it’s a good idea to keep on doing that one thing.
如果有一件事你只需要花费大约 1% 的时间和精力就能完成，而且这件事能带来你所寻求结果的最初一半，那么可以说，坚持做这件事是个好主意。
Step back for a moment and take stock of one area of your life that you want to improve. Perhaps it’s your health, your inner personal life, your relationship with your spouse or kids, your job, your finances, or your free time.
停下来片刻，审视一下你生活中想要改善的某个方面。也许是你的健康、你的内心世界、你与配偶或孩子的关系、你的工作、你的财务状况，或者你的空闲时间。
Looking at that area, you probably see right away the 1,000 things you wish were different and that you know you should change. But when you’re staring 1,000 important things in the face, you’ve no idea which one to start with. It’s totally overwhelming.
看着那片区域，你可能立刻就能看到一千件你希望改变、也知道自己应该改变的事情。但当你面对一千件重要的事情时，你根本不知道该从何下手。这完全让人不知所措。
Which is why you need that Minimum Effective Dose.
所以才需要最小有效剂量。
Think again about that area of your life where you’d love to see change. What is one thing you could do that would have a disproportionate result compared to anything else you did?
再想想你生活中最想改变的那个领域。你做什么 一件事 ，其效果会比你做的其他任何事情都更显著？
- Want to get in shape? Try walking for 15 minutes per day.
想保持身材吗？试试每天步行 15 分钟 。 - Want to improve your marriage? Compliment your spouse every day.
想改善婚姻关系吗？那就每天赞美你的伴侣吧。 - Want to get out of debt? Focus on paying off your smallest debt first to get it out of the way.
想摆脱债务？那就先集中精力还清最小的债务，把它从你的生活中剔除出去。 - Want to feel more recharged after the weekend? Read a book for 30 minutes before binge watching Netflix.
想在周末后感觉精力更充沛吗？在狂刷 Netflix 之前，先读 30 分钟书。 - Want to advance your career? Find someone new to have lunch with every week and ask them what you can do to help them.
想在事业上取得进步吗？每周找个新朋友一起吃午饭，问问他们你能为他们做些什么。
These things in and of themselves will not revolutionize your life over night. But the power is in their simplicity and their do-ability. And once these things get into place as part of your day-to-day lifestyle then they create a momentum that you can ride as you incorporate new activities. For example, you start out just walkling for 30 minutes. And then you begin to jog for a while at first and then walk the rest of the way. Until pretty soon you’re jogging the full half-hour, and more…
这些事情本身并不会让你的生活一夜之间发生翻天覆地的变化。但它们的力量在于其 简单易行 。一旦这些事情融入你的日常生活，它们就会形成一种势头，让你能够顺势而为，开展更多新的活动。例如，你可以先从步行 30 分钟开始。然后，你可以先慢跑一会儿，再走完剩下的路程。很快，你就能慢跑半小时，甚至更久……
But that’s not all. The other advantage to defining a Minimum Effective Dose is the simplification it brings.
但这还不是全部。定义最小有效剂量带来的另一个优点是简化了计算过程。
Knowing the single most important thing you can do is liberating.
知道自己能做的最重要的事情是什么，会让你感到解脱。
It simplifies your life because you know what it is you need to do, every day. Which, in turn, helps you know what you don’t need to do. You have just one task, one activity, one way to spend your energy. Go do it. Because the value in small things done consistently over time cannot be underestimated.
它简化了你的生活，因为你知道自己每天需要做什么。反过来，这也有助于你了解哪些事情 可以 省略。你每天只有一项任务、一项活动、一种方式来分配精力。去做吧。因为 持之以恒地做好小事所带来的价值 不容低估。
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