Pareto-ing my way out

80% of what we achieve comes from 20% of the effort spent.

2023 is 80% complete.
Time to do the 20% that really matters.

I need to Pareto the hell out of my dwindling runway. I need to be more selective, not comprehensive. More short cuts (for now), not long game. Don’t pursue every available opportunity, but calm down and curate which are the high value ones to go hard on. Strive to be exceptional in those few things, put intensity behind it, rather than average output over time.

What’s the 80% that’s just busy work that doesn’t move the needle?
What’s the 20% that will truly brings in my next dollar?

What’s not working? Let’s reduce or eliminate:

• Applying for fulltime jobs. Hiring market is bad right now. My generalist experience probably not helping either. Either I find a way to stand out from the noise through my portfolio, or just apply for the occasional one and focus elsewhere.
• Remote freelance part-time work in writing, web dev. These are new areas of work that I’ve never done before. Breaking into new fields always take more time. Do I have that luxury of time? No.
• Spending too much time on Twitter. My Twitter isn’t for monetizing, it’s for learning. But for now, I’m trying to survive. Maybe have to cut back on time spent there.

What’s working? What has potential high ROI for comparatively low time/effort? Let’s do more of this:

• Most opportunities came from friends and personal network.
• Design consulting opportunities were more likely to pan out than web dev/design.
• My LinkedIn feed seems to be a good source for serendipitous opportunities for consulting projects.
• Web design opportunities seems to focus on specialist roles, like Framer, Webflow. I can try to get good fast in those and sell services in those areas.
• For UI/UX design, the opportunities are also in specialist niches. Must be a Figma ninja and good portfolio of examples.
• Web dev opportunities are centered around using React/NextJS. Either I ignore that tech stack completely or just go learn and build some portfolio projects.
• Specialized or productized services (e.g. unlimited design/dev services) are also in demand. Build a MVP in a week? Landing page in 1 day? Unlimited Framer support?
• Do pre-sales to validate product ideas, with a Stripe payment link. Pre-sales bring in immediate money. An info product, an info directory, ideas I’ve been brewing.
• Build a product in a proven niche with good market demand and willing buyers. Just build something similar but add my own slight spin to it.

What other good 80/20 indie opportunities are there?