The rule of three will help you focus on what matters most

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

To be as productive as possible, you don't have to keep up with everything - you just have to complete the three most important things every day.

What is the rule of three

Chris Bailey, author of My Productive Year, summarized the Rule of Three as follows:

At the beginning of each day, before starting work, decide which three tasks you want to complete by the end of the day.

We often measure our productivity based on the number of things we do. Did a lot - good, did little - bad. At the same time, we forget that these cases may have different significance. What's the use if you did nine of the ten planned, but the tenth was the most important?

Productivity is not the number of checkmarks proudly put on a to-do list, but a few important tasks correctly chosen and completed, on which the success of your business depends to the greatest extent.

Why you should apply this rule

You can consciously plan your working hours

In most cases, an employee's working time is spontaneously distributed between a variety of momentary matters: incoming calls and letters, urgent tasks from management, and other routine. The Rule of Three allows you to prioritize and focus on what is most valuable to the company.

You are not so easy to be confused

During the day, we are inevitably distracted by something, and sometimes it can be difficult to remember where we left off. But if you have only three important things in your plans, you always know what to return to.

It's easy to follow the rule of three

Unlike many time management systems, this rule is very simple to apply: you just need to choose three important things every day.

The unimportant will become apparent

If some of the secondary things are postponed over and over again to the next day or week, this is a reason to think. If a task has never been in the top 3 for a long time, it may not be worth wasting time on it at all.

Make life easier for your colleagues

If you are in charge of a production department or a product release team, at the beginning of each day, give your team three tasks (even small ones) that must be completed by the evening. This will help the team to see the goals of the work more clearly and relieve everyone from the feeling of endless blockage.

How to get the most out of the rule of three

Apply it to long-term plans

Think about what goals you want to achieve in a week, month or year, choose three main vectors and build your daily plans in such a way that each day brings you closer to the desired results. However, choosing three goals for a month is much more difficult than coming up with three tasks for a day. Here, the opposite method will help you: think which of the unrealized will upset you at the end of the week or month the least.

Write tasks in a notebook

The idea of using paper and a pen in the digital age may sound strange, but there is a good grain to it: handwritten notes are easier to remember.

Plan from the evening

You can, of course, ponder three things for the day on the way to work. However, it is much more effective to plan them before bedtime, and spend the morning energy directly on implementing plans.

Summarize

At the end of the day (week, month, year), analyze whether you have coped with the tasks. Did you manage to do everything you planned? Did this lead you to the desired result? Gradually, you will learn to better calculate your strength and time, and your productivity will increase significantly.

Depart from the rule if need be

If you have done three important things that you have planned, and the day is not over yet, do the less important ones. And do not beat yourself up if you did not manage to cope with the three tasks for today: in any case, you did everything you could. Perhaps you overestimated your strengths or today is simply not your day.

Adapt to the situation

Alas, sometimes events take an unexpected turn and destroy all plans. In moments like this, it is very important to quickly reevaluate the situation. To identify new goals and understand how to proceed, try to answer the following question: "What in this situation will bring the maximum benefit to me and the company?"

Use the rule of three not only in your work

Success is important not only in business - important things and big plans await you at home too. Once you've learned how to use the rule of three for work, try it in your personal life as well.

Any achievements motivate us to new victories. Just imagine what satisfaction life will bring you if every night you can say to yourself: "I did everything that needs to be done today."