We always say it, there's nothing wrong with being a little, extra. But sometimes what we’re really after is a little lazy girl luxury. Except it isn’t lazy, it’s strategic. It's knowing our own 80/20 and saying no to anything that doesn't align with that. Because beauty and burn out don't go in the same sentence, and effort without return is just a bad investment. So here's how to get more for less and where to put your energy for maximum payoff.

What's Your 80/20

The 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto principle, is that 20% of actions drive 80% of results. And whilst the numbers 80 and 20 don't need to be rigid, the general idea is to find the small things that give you the biggest results. Applied to life, this becomes about dialling in habits that actually move you forward whilst cutting down the decisions that drain your time and attention.

Once you get the idea, the 80/20 principle becomes a way of spotting leverage. Unless you're already extremely dialled in (congrats if you are) then it's not everything that you do that gives results. Ask yourself what habits help and what hinder, what affects your mood positively and negatively and what can you add or remove that aligns with your goals.

In practice, this might look like realising that consistent sleep and a short daily walk do more for your wellbeing than an over complicated wellness routine, or that one focused block of deep work moves your career forward more than a full day of reactive tasks. In relationships, it’s often the regular check-ins or shared rituals that matter far more than constant availability. Financially, a handful of automated decisions can remove most of the stress, while emotionally, limiting exposure to people or situations that consistently drain you can change how your weeks feel almost immediately. The 80/20 is about recognising which few choices add to your life, and giving those the max effort.

Once you start seeing where your highest returns actually come from, the next question becomes obvious: how do you protect those choices so they’re not crowded out by everything else? Because identifying your 80/20 is only half the work. The real magic happens when you curate your life in a way that gives those high-impact habits space to exist, instead of constantly competing with admin, maintenance, and low-value demands on your time.

Build It Like Beyoncé

We've all heard the saying "we all have the same 24 hours as Beyoncé" and whilst its technically true, it's also a big fat lie. We do both have 24 hours in a day but the difference between Queen B and yours truly is the army that keeps her life running so she gets to do more with those hours. And whilst we aren't advocating that you get a whole team of staff, you can borrow the logic.

Identify anything that repeats throughout the week, meals, outfits, workouts, errands etc. If you’re deciding the same thing multiple times a week, it's wasted effort. Create defaults, the same breakfast on weekdays, a rotation of work outfits that all go together, a fixed workout schedule. Decision-making is one of the biggest energy drains so the more you can automate the better.

Then look at what quietly eats your time without improving the outcome. Rebooking appointments, managing subscriptions, reordering household products. These are the first things to systemise. Automate appointments, orders and payments, batch life admin into one block a week, make lists instead of relying on memory. None of this is glamorous, but it creates immediate mental space.

Lastly, be honest about what actually needs you. Your health, your relationships, your career. These are the areas where effort pays you back. Everything else can either be simplified, scheduled, or removed.

That’s the Beyoncé logic in real life. Fewer decisions, more energy left for the things that move you forward. You don’t need an entourage, but you do need fewer points of friction.

Where to Buy Back Your Time

Once you've spin your life tasks a la Beyoncé, it's time to outsource what you can. It's really not indulgent, its hugely practical.

Cleaning
Regular cleaning is one of the highest return on investment tasks to outsource. The time we spend cleaning can be around 6-7 hours a week, more if we have pets, kids or a husband. Even once a week is life altering, imagine what you can do with all those hours back.

Laundry
Laundry is another task that is deceptively expensive in terms of mental load. Washing, drying, folding, ironing, putting away, outsourcing even part of it creates an immediate relief.

Food prep and grocery shopping
This doesn’t have to mean a full meal delivery service. Grocery delivery, a standing weekly order, pre-prepared staples, or a short list of repeat meals all reduce daily decision-making. Many food delivery companies also let you select how many meals you want them to cater for so you can do part of the day only if you prefer. You're getting time back, eating aligned to your goals and staying off the takeout.

Beauty maintenance
Brows, nails, hair, laser, facials. Regular appointments mean you’re not constantly “catching up” or thinking about how put together you look. Maintenance handled consistently costs less effort than sporadic resets.

Home maintenance
Anything you repeatedly put off such as repairs, deep cleaning, organising, small fixes is often better handled by someone who can do it quickly and properly. The return is not just the result, it’s no longer carrying it mentally.

Errands and deliveries
Dry cleaning, returns, pharmacy runs, bulk household restocks. These are low-value uses of personal time when they can be handled by delivery services or consolidated into fewer trips.

Outsourcing isn’t about luxury in the obvious sense but it lets you decide where your time and attention are better spent. When routine tasks are handled without constant involvement, your energy becomes available for the parts of life that actually benefit from it.

High-Return Everyday Essentials

Our theory is, if you touch it every day, it should feel and perform excellently. This is where you stop being purely practical and start being strategic. Cheap, awkward, or poorly designed tools don’t just cost money, they cost patience. Tiny frustrations repeated daily add up and take more toll than you realise. Upgrading these items is like investing in Bitcoin in 2010.

Sleep essentials
Without good sleep, everything else we try to do is worthless. That includes supplements, training and eating clean. A supportive mattress, good pillows, breathable bedding and a cold, dark room will benefit your sleep as a minimum. Dial this in and see how it affects your mood, focus, skin, and energy.

Technology you rely on daily
Laggy laptops, cracked phone screens, slow chargers or bad headphones, they seem like small inconveniences but they interrupt the flow and ease of your day. Reliable tech reduces frustration and saves time.

Kitchen basics
You don’t need a full kitchen overhaul, just the items you use on the regular. A good sharp knife, a couple of non toxic pans, a morning coffee setup that's almost automated, anything to make life easier and quicker.

Work from home tools
If you work from home, you're spending hours here. Look after your setup rather than let the discomfort become background stress. A desk that's the right height, a quality chair that won't cripple you, a separate keyboard, or second screen.

Effort With Return

So here’s the useful truth, you don’t need a massive team, you don't need to try harder, and you don't need to burn out. The low-effort, high-return life is about knowing where your effort actually counts, and investing in yourself by refusing to waste it everywhere else.

That’s lazy girl luxury, properly done.

We're launching The Sunday Pages, a weekly edition that you can only get on our social pages. First edition below.

The link has been copied!