Many books and blogs tout productivity tricks that supposedly make you more productive in no time. However, the majority of this advice doesn't work and I was convinced that there were no tips that could double your productivity without effort.
However, the Rule of Three presented by Chris Bailey in his book “The Productivity Project” proved me wrong. With this rule, it is possible to completely change the way you work in under five minutes
The Rule of Three
Every day, you set a maximum of three tasks that you want to have completed in any case by the end of the day. You do the same at the beginning of each week. All other tasks are optional. It is possible to keep one list for private and one list for professional tasks.
This technique should be used in your planning ritual, because it increases productivity on three levels:
- Effectiveness: Being limited to three tasks per day or week forces you to prioritize and think about which tasks are most important.
- Efficiency: Due to the time horizon of 24 hours or seven days, you have to work purposefully to complete the tasks on time. This prevents procrastination.
- Mindfulness: By setting goals, you have a better overview and can determine if you are working on the right things. Also, the method encourages working on only one task at a time.
This technique is, in my opinion, one of the few productivity tips, if not the only one, that yields big results with little effort. Give it a try if, like me, you're skeptical at first! It helps if you create a task checklist for each project.
If you structure your day and week this way you will be more focused, productive and mindful in no time. But never forget: productivity is not the real goal!