2021-02-09 The Rule of 70/20/10

There are a lot of lessons in the movie about values, about civility, and about the true philosophy of Kung Fu, but the main one may be: “Don’t fight when it doesn’t matter.” Focus your energy on the biggest obstacles so you may overcome them when they appear.

Hidden in the movie’s timeline lies a rule on how, inspired by a true Kung Fu master, you can do so in your everyday life. I guess we could call it the rule of 70/20/10. Imagine, every week, your schedule would look like this:

• 70% of the time, you rest. You get 8 hours of sleep and, for another 9 hours each day, you rest actively. You create. You think. You go outside. You spend time with friends and family and just try to enjoy life.
• 20% of the time, you train. That’s another 5 hours a day. I know, right? A week is long if you know how to use it. You work out. You educate yourself. You level up your game and mentally prepare for what’s ahead.
• 10% of the time, you fight. You attend the tournament. You run the marathon. You sit at your desk for 8 hours to finish the project. Whatever it takes, you raise all hell and use every skill you have to succeed — and you do that for two 8-hour days each week.

That’s an accurate representation of how Ip Man spends his time. It’s also the opposite of what most of us do each day: We sacrifice rest for more training and fighting. Often, that’s a mistake.