Percentage-thinking perspective

How numbers can change decisions

Despite my heavy lean toward liberal arts (poetry, French, theatre, coaching, socratic discussions etc.) I actually really love numbers. They don’t lie, aren’t subject to emotions, and often give a good picture of the story under the surface. Math can encourage you and inform what it takes to make a dream a reality at a granular level. It can also expose what your values actually are.

I particularly love putting numbers into perspective by thinking in percentages. It can remind us how much/little something is part of our world. I encourage you to take some goals or challenges you are facing and put them into a percentage: percentage of time, money, resource, focus, energy. Even if the numbers are more qualitative, a number can say a lot, or be the start of an important message to yourself or others.

For example,

I value adventure- we love to travel. Lots of people say this. How much money did you spend on adventure and travel in 2025? If the number is $1,000 or $100,000 it’s relatively meaningless, unless you consider its percentage of your overall picture. If you make $100k, spending 1% on travel does not communicate you really value it on the surface. Especially if you contrast it to the 4.6% of your year’s income you spent on clothes and shoes. Context for the numbers tells a different story.

Percentage thinking can help you identify if you are overvaluing something as well. Does that percentage feel right? too little or too much?

Last year I spent 15.5% of total business revenue on personal growth and education. I value these things for sure, but that feels too high. It was also my final year of grad school, so I’ll chop off 10.5 of that at least this year simply by being done with that chapter. The percentage gives perspective and context is important.
It’ll never be perfect, but the percentages help me understand the value and cost.

Maybe money isn’t the best metric; time is the great equalizer. What percentage of your 365 days of 2025 did you invest in adventure and travel? On the conservative end, I counted 66 days in 2025 committed to some level of adventure. That’s 18%. If I were generous in my counting it was probably closer to 40% because of daily choices I made to prioritize adventure in some measure. Percentages give me perspective. If I truly want a life of adventure, 40% might still be low. “Gotta get those numbers up”

Percentages fight comparison

Thinking in percentages can also help you fight the comparison game. I work with wealthy business owners, I know wealthy people, and I know people strapped and struggling. If I think in percentages, I can check myself out of envy. That $50,000 car makes a lot more sense for the CEO making $250,000 + equity. If I keep up with the Jones’ in equal measure, I can have a $20,000 car. 20% is 20% is 20%.

I can also observe what other’s value. How they spend their time, how they spend their dollars, how they spend their attention.

I might be jealous of that trip I see on insta, until I consider what percentage of their picture they are giving to it. I’m making percentage based value decisions. Would I trade my 15% of retirement contributions for a week in Ibiza? Percentage thinking reminds me of my values and choices, and I can feel more confident in my choice.

My 18% of days is going toward education. Toward family time. Into service. Yours is going somewhere different that you value, and the comparison trap shrinks.

Use percentages with your boss

Percentage thinking can help you build a plate that looks more nicely balanced. You have 40 hours a week of work. Take your list of priorities and responsibilities. Get them to give a rough number. How much of my time should be committed to admin? How much customer/client facing? How much in 1:1s and team meetings?

Percentages don’t lie and aren’t subject to feeling. If your boss wants you to be

50% in admin
50% client-facing and
25% in team meetings,

remind them that’s 125% and math doesn’t work that way (kindly).

A higher-level of thinking will open us to think in percentage of energy and effort. What percentage of my valuable energy should go where?

This works at work and at life.

What is something you could think about differently if you considered in in percentages?