A new year brings with it a sort of momentum for making changes in our lives – exercise more, eat healthier, save money, and so on. Making New Year resolutions is a long-standing tradition and can be great for personal growth. Unfortunately, a lot of resolutions are fast forgotten. Establishing these goals is great, but putting our intentions into action can be a challenge.
A lot of resolutions fail because we fail to make a plan. Let’s be honest, cultivating new habits takes time and concerted energy. If your goal is to exercise more, when and how will you get your workout in? If your desire is to save more money, have you established a budget for yourself? It’s easy to see how resolutions are quickly left behind in our fast-paced world when they’re competing with our already jam-packed schedules and ever-increasing to-do lists. When we are inundated with reactive tasks and distractions, how can we incorporate new habits into our daily lives?
Productivity is paramount to achieving our goals. There are a lot of productivity concepts and methods available today, but let’s focus on one titled, The Rule of 3 – from the book Getting Results the Agile Way by J.D. Meier, Director of Innovation at Microsoft. I’ve found his method to be the most simple and effective time management technique I’ve tried over the past several years.
The Rule of 3 guides you to set time aside at the start of your day to think about the three primary objectives you must complete. That’s right, only three. More than three tasks can start to feel overwhelming so keep your list succinct. Remember, you’re choosing three primary tasks each day. At the end of the work week you’ve achieved fifteen tasks. That’s a productive week. You can also revise the time you’ve allotted to complete the tasks. For example, maybe you have three primary morning tasks and an additional three afternoon tasks. Or maybe your tasks are more labor intensive, and you choose three for the entire week – it’s up to you! After you’ve identified your three tasks, publish your list on your phone, stationary, or calendar. That’s it.
Unlike other techniques that require a lot of overhead, the Rule of 3 streamlines your to-do list to the three most important tasks. Once those are complete, you identify the next three. It’s a great way to establish what you need to focus on and avoid the urge to throw out your entire list and leave the office for an iced coffee, all because fifteen items feel unachievable.
Once this method becomes part of your daily routine you will find yourself feeling less intimidated by your workload and more motivated to power through your three daily tasks.
Pro Tip: Set time aside to do this before you open your inbox each day. A lot of us open our inbox and begin responding to emails and doing reactive tasks which can consume our whole day. Establishing your three primary tasks before helps prioritize your work.
