Productivity Hacks: The Rule of 3s

We're always searching for those productivity hacks that give us the perfect schedule. We pray that if we curate the right list, do things in the proper order, or start our day at 4:00am with $50.00 boutique water spritzes, we'll win at life.

But that's an abuse of productivity hacks. Instead, hacks are supposed to be just that: hacks to life. Shortcuts. Not foundations.

So, do not expect to dramatically change your life by making small changes to your process or routine, unless you have the right focus. However, you might find the perfect combination of tricks to help you finish those pesky projects that seem to drag on too long.

That being said, here's a simple productivity hack that might help you get control of a chaotic project list and an overwhelming urge to quit life and move to the mountains.

(And if you do want to move to the mountains, you can use this productivity hack to do that too…)

Productivity Hacks: The Rule of 3s

I'm a big list guy.

And I don't just mean that lists are really important in my daily work life. I mean that I write massive lists and then challenge myself to finish them.

However, just like a fat guy at an ice cream shop handing out all-you-can-eat free scoops, I can only fight against nature for so long. Sooner or later, the long list collapses under the weight of my day, and I find myself binging on YouTube videos like the fat guy demolishing that ice cream shop's will to live.

I've made the bigger lists work for a day or two, but they don't seem to stick as well as I'd like them. Oftentimes, many of the tasks would drag on to the next day, and the next, and the next. Then, sooner or later, I'd try out another productivity hack to see if I could salvage my work.

Enter the rule of 3s.

Take your productivity hacks and test them with this simple rule: are they reasonable enough to follow every day, yet get things done? Do they stress you out when you try to keep them, or do you find yourself feeling accomplished when you get to the end of the day?

It matters because productivity is not pure discipline. It also requires inertia, hope, ambition, and some motivation sprinkled in. When a person tries to raw dog a workday every single day, their will begins to fade. They may make it to the weekend, but the bits and pieces of starved projects weigh you down. You feel farther behind and wonder, "Will I ever catch up?"

With the rule of 3s, you take back the simplicity of a list and spread your project timeline out to blocks of work defined by weeks instead of days.

Here's how this productivity hack works.

1) Productivity Hacks - Rule of 3s: 3 Hours

First, determine a project that needs 3 hours of undivided focus. This may be a major presentation, a business deal, a book, a video, or software development. Whatever your field, you'll probably have a single project that requires more than 3 hours of your attention.

Do your best to devote your first 3 hours (or earliest as possible) to that project.

As the day runs on, time will become more precious, and your energy will begin to drop. Typically, your levels of creativity and abilities to think abstract thoughts are higher in the morning. As the day drags on and more gets pressed into your grey play-doh blob of a brain, the more mundane and concrete tasks should take precedence.

Take those first 3 hours (9 to 12 for a lot of us) and devote them to the most mentally taxing work. And if you need to, shut off your phone, turn off your communication methods with the outside world, and put a do not disturb sign on your wall.

Fire flare guns at your co-workers for added awareness.

Then chip away at those tough projects, and you'll get that monstrosity slayed in no time.

2) Productivity Hacks – Rule of 3s: 3 Shorter Tasks

Once you've made the main thing the main thing, then take the 3s productivity hacks tool and apply that magical, spiritual, oh-so-satisfying number to several shorter tasks.

Take 3 things that you can do without way too much effort and do those things. You could either apply them to bigger projects you're working on, or complete shorter tasks that fill in the gaps.

Maybe it's:

• Doing some edits on a paper

• Putting in some video transitions

• Proofreading a written proposal

• Double-checking some data

Pick some tasks that you know won't eat up your storage of time and dive right in.

One thing to keep in mind: try to do tasks you can get done in one session. If there needs to be a carry-over, then make sure they fit in two sessions. The point of the short tasks is to give yourself some easy victories.

Some people like to put the easy victories first and gain some momentum through their day. This is certainly reasonable and may work for you.

I find I work best when I can get the daunting tasks chipped away at during my most thoughtful and energetic time of the day. I appreciate getting the smaller tasks taken care of later in the day, when my brain starts to go a little downhill.

After all, the hamster starts to ride the wheel around towards the latter half of the day.

Find what works for you. Perhaps those 3 short tasks work best at the beginning of your day. If so, go for it!

Just know that if that's the case, you're most likely a psychopath.

3) Productivity Hacks – Rule of 3s: 3 Maintenance Tasks

These are the simple tasks that keep things going and take almost no brain power.

It could be emails that have been needing a response. Maybe it's buying those office supplies you've been avoiding because you don't feel like dodging hoverounds at Wal-Mart.

Perhaps you've put off watering your desk plant, and it's starting to look more like an ode to death than a centerpiece of life.

You've got plenty of maintenance tasks that your business or job requires you to do. These things are mundane and often get put on the back burner because we know the major project should get first priority.

Productivity hacks operate with the human psyche in mind. They're designed to help because their creators realize most of us have little to no ambition after about 3:30 in the afternoon. Especially if it's on a Friday. Heck, even the auto industry figured out that Friday afternoons produced fewer quality vehicles and more spectacular crashes and breakdowns.

So cut your losses when you need and take care of those tasks that are tantamount to cleaning your gutters and sweeping the porch. The next morning, you'll feel better that some of that stuff is finally off your plate and you can think clearly.

Productivity Hacks: Get Some Work Done

Using productivity hacks to get further ahead with your work can bring some peace of mind in life. However, don't go overboard. The productivity hacks you read about on random blogs in seedy corners of the internet like this one may give you a tool in the toolbox, but they won't transform your life.

Learn the value of the productivity hacks and then use them to supplement your already stellar work ethic and driving ambition.

And please, don't use productivity hacks to ensure you get more Doritos to your mouth in less time over a day. We don't need a superstar like you making us all look bad.

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