What is the Rule of 3?
While it’s a concept that’s been discussed in various blogs and books, author Chris Bailey defines it thusly: "At the beginning of each day, before you start working, decide what three things you want to accomplish by the end of the day. Do the same at the start of every week."
It’s a simple, yet game-changing concept. While it’s actually fairly easy to execute, below I’ll take you through the reason it’s so important to do, as well as some quick tips for utilizing the Rule of 3 to its maximum potential.
People often think of productivity as the amount of stuff that got done - a measurable number of tasks. The more boxes that have been checked off the to-do list, the more productive a day has been.
To put it simply, that’s a terrible way to determine your productivity.
It assumes that every item on your list has equal value, and that’s simply not the case.
If your to-do list has 15 things on it, but only one of them is truly important to get done today, what good does it do if 14 of 15 items are checked off and yet the single most important item remains?
A better way to approach your productivity is to ask a simple question at the end of each day: "Did I get done what I intended to?" Or as Bailey puts it: "Productivity isn’t about doing more things - it’s about doing the right things."
There are always plenty of good things to cross-off your to-do list, but superior productivity requires tackling the best things first. The stuff that has the greatest leverage and ROI in moving you closer to your goals.
In order to determine what that stuff is, you need to know the outcomes that have to happen in order for you to have a successful and productive day/week/month/year. Then you need to think about the things you could do that would add the most value to your company or business, and produce those outcomes.
To reiterate: productivity is not about the amount of tasks you marked off, but whether you did the right things, and got done the important, intended tasks that will add value to your business.
When you’ve nailed the Rule of 3 for work, create another Rule of 3 list (daily, weekly, etc.) for your personal/home/family goals and to-dos. Nail your work life, nail your home life, rule the world!
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