Optimization and frustration

According to Pareto's Principle (the 80/20 rule), eighty percent of the results will come from twenty percent of the effort.

Moving to my new studio took much longer than I initially thought, and I'm past that initial eighty percent. The never-ending task remains of giving a home to rarely used items I should get rid of and finishing small details.

Optimization can lead to frustration when you don't know when to stop.

The same principle applies to other contexts, such as organizing your digital life, processing your inbox, sorting files, or cleaning your Desktop.

The key is to identify when the returns start to diminish and move on to something else—the remaining work could take four times as much time and effort as you've already accomplished.