Thanks for your comment. I think we’re actually in total agreement. Yes, it’s a great idea to focus on the core stuff that makes you happy and successful and outsource (if you can) or minimize the little things that don’t require your personal attention. I like to keep track of my hours on projects, to make sure I’m getting what I’m worth on them, since I tend to charge a flat rate. Examining what you’re doing, seeing how well it’s working for you and adjusting your business strategy to get the best payoff for your efforts–all good.

My main point (which I think you got) was that it’s not something you can reduce to a simple formula. Evaluating how you’re doing and where you’d like to be is more complicated than that. As you said, some things are worth doing even without a big return. And I’d add that sometimes one can be willing to invest time or money in something that won’t pay off now, but will down the road.

Consider the use of the “loss leader” strategy, in which a business offers a product or service at a price that is not profitable for the sake of offering another product/service at a greater profit or to attract new customers.

Companies like Gillette do this by essentially giving away their razor units, knowing that customers will have to buy their replacement blades, which is where they make all of their profit.

Another example is Microsoft’s Xbox video game system, which was sold at a loss of more than $100 per unit to create more potential to profit from the sale of higher-margin video games.

So sometimes when you lose in the short-run, you win in the long run. :)

1) A lot of things are not measurable. What is 20% of my work? What is 20% of writing — write 20% of the words? Take 20% of the jobs? What is 20% of, let’s say, parenting?

2) Some things are worth doing even without a big return. You mention building a writing career, but there are a lot of little things that we do throughout the day that have a small “business” return but offer a greater return in terms of satisfaction, happiness, etc. I’m not willing to Pareto parenting, again, even though a great amount of the work I do might ahve minimial payoff in the long-run.

That said, I think the general idea is a sound one: examine what you’re doing from time to time to make sure that all the bug and little efforts you pursue are still moving you in a direction you want to go. Especially look at all the little stuff you don’t like to do and see if there’s a way to minimize it, eliminate it, or off-load it to a professional. Focus on the core things that make you successful and happy, the things you’re liable to be best at, whether that’s 20% or 50% or 80% of your work.