The 60/30/10 principle is everywhere.

The 60/30/10 rule offers a timeless approach to balance in different areas. You should apply this rule to how you prioritize your work.

Most financial advisors recommend that you allocate 60% of your income towards essential needs (like rent, groceries, utilities), 30% towards discretionary spending (like dining out, entertainment), and 10% towards savings (emergency fund, retirement)

Many software companies will allocate 60% of their engineering bandwidth towards adding new features and fixing bugs based on customer requests, 30% towards infrastructure/architecture improvements, and 10% towards moon shots.

Interior designers recommend 60% for the dominant color, 30% for the secondary color, and 10% for the accent color to promote a visually appealing balance in your design.

The same principle works for our business and personal life as well. Let’s use the LNO framework, popularized by Shreyas Doshi, which divides our day-to-day tasks into three categories:
– Leverage Tasks: High-effort, high-reward tasks (10X or more return) that are challenging but impactful. Example: Creating a strategy for entering a new market.
– Neutral Tasks: Essential for smooth operations. While they offer little upside (1X return or slightly more), neglecting them can have serious downsides Example: Weekly staff meetings.
– Overhead Tasks: Necessary but low-return (less than 1X). Example: Filing expense reports.

The 60/30/10 principle works well with the LNO framework for planning your day, week, or month:
– Spend 60% of your time on neutral tasks to keep things running smoothly.
– Dedicate 30% to leverage tasks to make a significant impact and achieve job satisfaction.

Most people, however, fall into a 10% leverage, 80% neutral, and 10% overhead split at work. This leads to higher stress (not enough effort applied to visible projects) and lower job satisfaction. A balanced 60/30/10 approach can make all the difference!