70/20/10. It is a development model that is turning up in a lot of different places. I think it should play a role in career development as well. (My apologies to anyone who has gotten to this realization before me. If so, I have not yet seen your work.) 

So, what is it? Let me explain. I see it is a breakdown of time and energy spent on evolving an undertaking. Think of it as 70%/20%/10%. Some examples of its application may help: 

In education: Learning often comes from recognizing problems and the need to solve them. According to this approach 70% of our time is spent performing day-to-day and challenging tasks that contain problems we ponder by trying to think of solutions. 20% is occupied by interacting with others to collect data useful in solving these problems and 10% comes from formal course work or training to build one’s expertise. 

In business: To be innovative (and what business does not need to be?) requires what Eric Schmidt of Google says is a 70/20/10 approach. 70% should be on basic operations, i.e., making the doughnuts. 20% of the time should be spent dedicated to experimenting with different ways of implementing the core business. 10% should be on completely novel concepts not related to the core business. 

Diet: Livestrong promotes eating 70% proteins, 20% fats, and 10% carbs. 

Social Media Marketing: There is a posting rule for business to get the most ROI exposure while on social media. It goes 70% brand building, 20% sharing others’ posts, and 10% advertising and promotion. 

Job Search: Heck, even I and other career types find we recommend to clients that when job searching spend 70% of the time networking, 20% reaching out to recruiters, and 10% on job boards. 

70/20/10. It is infectious. Isn’t it? Perhaps even elegant. 

This is what I am thinking in terms of using this formula in career development. Assuming we want to mature and progress in our careers it may be useful to have a grand action plan for doing so. This plan should be easy to remember and not very complicated. Starting with 70/20/10 is good, because it is easy to keep in mind. Here is how I propose using the 70/20/10 career plan: 

70% of our time, energy, and spirit can be committed to practicing our craft. This is what we do to attain our 10,000 hours, Malcolm Gladwell’s mastery threshold. It is what gives us our sixth sense of professionalism. Sure, we may be on cruise control to some extent, but the repetition, the deep experience, and the number of times you can say, “I’ve seen this one before,” will over time build expertise. 

20% is what we devote to trying things out of our box. We allow ourselves to play a little with our career. The rule now is to think creatively and experimentally. The time has come to approach the same-old with a fresh perspective and novel approaches. Embrace change and look for new ways to perform tasks and meet responsibilities. Always improve and refine. Do not get locked into thinking the 70% is where 100% of your time should be spent. Allow yourself to play with the 20%. The 20% is not to be set aside. It is crucial. 

10% of our work time, yes 10%, is spent doing something completely different. It may be difficult to see that it is even tangentially related to your day job. Are you an accountant? Spend 10% of your time watercolor painting. Are you a parole officer? Spend 10% of your time learning how to play the clarinet. Are you an artist? Spend 10% of your time studying nutrition. But here is the connection, be mindful of what new things you learn and how they may have applications to your fundamental work. Remember, you are looking for new avenues to grow professionally. And maybe you will enrich your life at the same time. 

70/20/10. Lots of possibilities with these numbers. Think of using them with your career. Growth, purpose, and success may result.