The Rule of 3 for productivity

Day 232 / 365

I think I might as well make the theme for this week's blog — “productivity”. Yesterday we talked about the 21 / 90 rule of habit formation. Today’s is another simple rule, it’s called the Rule of 3.

As the name suggests, it consists of three simple steps.

• Write down three things you want to achieve today,
• Write down three things you want to achieve this week, and
• Write down three things you want to achieve this month.

For the day's tasks, you should do this planning on the night before. For the weekly tasks, this needs to be done over the weekend. The last weekend of a month can be used to plan the three tasks for the coming month.

The significance of ‘3’

Why do we take three tasks and not 2 or 4? It’s because the number three appears in many other fields in this way. Many other areas like art, photography, and literature have their own versions of “The Rule of three”. So it seems that our brains are fond of the number three.

Which three tasks to choose?

There are lots of factors to consider while choosing these tasks

• Which tasks are the most time-consuming?
• Which tasks are high up on your priority list?
• Which tasks would have the highest rewards?

You need to factor in these things and choose your three tasks to achieve in any time frame. At the end of the day, choose the tasks which when completed will give you the most satisfaction.

Another thing to remember is that these three tasks aren’t set in stone. You would, and probably should update them as you go along.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog —The 21 / 90 Rule