The System of Threes

How focusing on 3 things can help you get the important things done

If any of you know me personally, you know that I love a good system. Systems help build out a broader rhythm that connects us to purpose, and that purpose drives our lives. I have a plethora of systems, which get me focused on the most important things every day. Here’s how I use the system of threes to get things done:

• Step 1: identify what’s most important in any given week, write it all down in list form.

• Step 2: once you have your list, consider your week. I do this by looking at my Google calendar, where I literally keep every meeting, important campaign, kids activity, or milestone.

  (Taking time to look at the week ahead gives me a good understanding of what’s to come, and more importantly, what must get done in order for that “thing” on the calendar to be a success.)

• Step 3: assign yourself the 3 most important things to get done for the next day, based on what’s happening and what is due.

• Step 4: when the next day arrives, do those 3 things FIRST before anything else. So when you sit down at your desk, or you ask yourself what you should get started on, you know exactly what to direct your focus towards.

Once you’ve done those three things, you’re free to work on other tasks. But doing those three things first is a productive way to approach an otherwise overwhelming list. Here’s an example of how this would work:

Give it a try! Choose your “three things” based on what has to get done that day and commit to focusing on those first. You got this!