Principle of Minimum Required

The Minimum Required Principle (PMR) states that :

“to achieve a goal one need to set a specific measurable target, and then plan to achieve that utilizing minimum effort”

Let me clarify one thing right at the beginning. Minimum effort should not be confused with minimum standards. For example, to achieve an A in a certain subject at college you may determine that a score of 90% is required. At the same time to pass through that subject you may be required to score 50%. So “attaining a grade A in Applied Mathematics” and “passing Applied Mathematics” are two different specific goals and should be treated as such. This means the minimum required effort does not mean to “pass” the subject, but to “achieve a specific grade” can be treated as specific goals. Also, I may decide that I want to achieve 98% in a subject irrespective of what grade I would be given. So for each of these three goals (scoring A, D, or 98%) the minimum required effort would be different. I hope this analogy clarifies what minimum required means. My standard could be an A grade, while yours could be a 95% score.

Once a specific target has been set, next comes the plan “to achieve the goal/target utilizing minimum effort”. Here, again, minimum should not be confused with the standard definition of just enough, although that’s exactly what I am implying here but in a different sense. I am actually trying to say that to achieve a specific goal, our plan should not carry any extra baggage that does not contribute towards achieving that goal. So we are not putting in minimum effort, but in fact are focusing everything in our plan towards achieving the goal. I will go over a couple of examples to elaborate on this principle in my follow-up posts.