The 80% Rule 2 Billionaires Follow (And How It Can Help You Build Wealth)
Written by
Cara Danielle Brown
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Zuri Anderson
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Best-selling author and Google’s in-house productivity coach, Laura Mae Martin, claims a rule known as “the 80% rule” can maximize one’s productivity (and potentially boost their wealth). For the uninitiated, the concept advocates professionals schedule 80% of their day and leave the other 20%… well, wide open. So why exactly is that?
As Martin told Inc. in 2024, when it comes to getting more done, volume is not the same thing as value. And, despite the theatricality, “busy is not important,” stated Martin. As paradoxical as it may sound, slowing down and leaving slack in your schedule can actually increase productivity.
This is because the additional free time helps ensure clearer thinking, more strategic responses and better-quality work. GOBankingRates breaks down how this rule worked out for two highly-successful billionaires and how you can use it to build wealth.
Which 2 Billionaires Followed This Rule?
Believe it or not, some very successful individuals notoriously adhered to the 80% rule — chief among them, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.
In 2025, Inc.‘s Jessica Stillman reported that, unlike contemporaries Bill Gates and Elon Musk who schedule their days down to the minute, Zuckerberg purposefully keeps a meaningful amount of time wide open. He’s previously said the extra flexibility helps him adapt, pivot and prioritize throughout the day if something more pressing comes up.
Enjoying a looser approach, Zuckerberg infamously dislikes rigid, one-on-one meetings and, instead, prefers to move about the office just talking to people. Similarly, Steve Jobs liked to purposefully keep chunks of time open to think things through and marinate on the day’s past and future happenings. And these two guys weren’t exactly slackers!
Can The 80% Rule Help You Build Wealth?
When productivity is enhanced, earnings potential naturally skyrockets. In fact, here are three key ways leaving 20% of your day open can result in earning more money.
You Increase Efficiency
Ever work on a difficult task for so long that you stop being able to see the forest through the trees? This is the time when taking a break can help you return to the task at hand with fresh eyes and instantly know how to solve it.
Steven Kotler’s research in The Oxford Academic on neuroscience and consciousness stated, “we can appreciate the elegance of the mind’s ability to both ‘think without thinking’ and perform optimally without deliberate decision-making.”
In other words, the mind needs idle time to turn over thoughts and ideas in order to come up with solutions. In most professions, more tasks accomplished in less time means more money in your pocket. And perhaps a promotion.
You Avoid Burnout
Earning money is a marathon; not a sprint. Spending eighteen hours a day at the office may seem like a good idea in the short-term, but it’s a surefire way to suffer from exhaustion, hate your job and prematurely quit.
To ensure long-term success, make sure the number of hours you work in a day is sustainable over the long-term. Work-life balance is crucial to any aspiring executive hoping to stay in the game long enough to one day command a hefty salary.
You Allow Opportunities for Growth
For bosses and employees alike, it can be essential to step back and take inventory of what did and didn’t go well in their day, and where opportunities for improvement lie. Amending one’s strategy can both produce better results and increase efficiency — both of which can result in increasing one’s bottom line.
Additionally, open time may mean opportunities to learn new skills or work on additional projects — both of which make you a more valuable worker able to negotiate a higher salary.
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