Last week, I wrote about the 3-3-3 method from the book 4,000 Weeks.
That is three hours of deep work on your most important project or task, three smaller tasks, and three maintenance tasks.
I want to return to it today, tomorrow and perhaps other days this week, and discuss some of the finer details of implementing this system.
Additionally, I want to describe some other super-simple ways to plan your day and compare and contrast them.
Let’s start with the other super-simple methods for planning your day.
The Rule of Three
First, there is the Rule of Three, which is a way of making sure your day, week, quarter, and year are in alignment.
this is different than the 3-3-3 method.
To use this method, you need to know what you are trying to accomplish over a longer time period.
For example, I set the goal of posting a new blog article every day for one full year.
That means I need to write 365 posts in this time period.
If I were so inclined, I could batch-process them.
Theoretically, I can write four blogs per day. I’ve done it before.
I could get 28 done per week.
I could have 364 posts drafted in a quarter if I did this every day.
But I don’t.
I find batching to be a good way to get burned out.
I can do it sometimes, and for probably a month or two I could keep it up.
Then I would lose steam.
Even more important, I would likely struggle with having enough ideas to write about.
This is the same with my year-long goal of averaging 15,000 steps per day for a full year.
Again, I can batch it.
If I walk 30,000 steps in a day, I have completed one day and banked a second day.
But I Usually don’t.
I find that amount of walking to be exceptionally high, and it sort of requires the whole day to get that many steps in.
I do rely on banked steps, though, to keep me ahead of the curve.
Last month I burned through some of those, and I am glad I had them.
Regardless, I have only one more slot to use for this approach.
Currently, I don’t have anything filling it in the same way that the first two do.
If I did, I would likely be at full capacity.
Instead, I have a bunch of smaller- to medium-sized things I am pursuing.
Thus, by default, I am kind of using this method.
I just rotate a bunch of smaller items into that third slot.
Which tells me I either need one more important One Hit Wonder, or I should consider using one of the other methods.
The 1-3-5 Method
This is essentially very similar to the 3-3-3 approach, except that you have no requirement for a large, three-hour block of deep work.
The one (1) stands for your most important task or project, or it can be a deep-work block of two to three hours.
The three (3) stands for important but less time-intensive tasks that require less brainpower or willpower.
The five (5) stands for quick wins. These are minor tasks that are important but will not take a significant amount of time to complete.
For example, today I am easing back into my more productive mode after a day of rest yesterday.
My one (1) is this blog article.
Nothing else rises to the same level of importance or urgency.
I have run out of batched, pre-drafted posts, so I must put in the time to write, edit, and post this article to stay true to my goal of a single blog post every day for a year.
My three (3) are probably my walks to get to 15,000 steps.
Each of these walks takes approximately 45 minutes. And I pretty much must do that to get to 15,000 in the day, with additional movement in between them.
If not, then I start eating into my banked steps.
Plus, I really want to rebuild my surplus this month after last month’s drawdown.
So, yeah, I would have to say these are the three (3).
My five (5) are kind of whatever else is pressing and on my mind.
Today, that was mailing a birthday card first thing this morning. Done.
But first, I needed to record my expenses, check my budget, and make sure my financial freedom spinning plate keeps spinning. Check.
Three more to go.
Practicing guitar will be the third item, because I am trying to rebuild my discipline around this. I have practiced every day this past week, and I don’t want to lose my mojo.
Rehearsing six songs will be my fourth item.
I am going through a process of assessing all my performance-ready (or near-performance-ready) songs. I am playing them two at a time and forcing a ranking.
If I could only play one live, which of the two would I choose?
It’s been tough.
The only way I have been able to do this is to assure myself that the “loser” songs will get another chance in a second round.
It’s hard to cut your babies, as Keith Richards might say.
And then I have my goal of five minutes of decluttering and cleaning each day.
I missed yesterday, so today I will do five minutes of both (cleaning and decluttering).
Done.
What do you notice?
Well, if you use the four burners, I am only attending to work, health, and family (the birthday card).
Friends and community get the short shrift again today.
Fun in the Sun is typically a friends-and-family event.
Still, this method works pretty well for supporting what I have already committed to doing.
I like it better than the Rule of Three, at least for the time being.
The Ivy Lee Method
I may have written about this method in an earlier article this year or before, but basically, it fits the idea that you can only really get six (6) important things done each day.
Plan and prioritize them wisely.
Basically, the night before (or the morning of—I think the night-before idea works sometimes, but is not essential), you list the six things you want to get done the next day.
Then you prioritize them, 1–6.
You start the day working on item number one.
When it is done, you move to item number two. Etc.
If, at the end of the day, you have anything left on the list, you push it to the next day.
Theoretically, I think you would be best to rank it as the number one priority for the next day, but that may not always work.
So, for example, today, my primary task was to get the birthday card mailed so it would arrive on time.
Sadly, it will not, because I waited too long to get it to the post office.
And sorry, but paying $30 for UPS or FedEx overnight seems excessive.
Mea culpa, it will arrive late.
And, I did not put it first.
My other primary task would be to write, edit, and post this article.
But I didn’t put it first, either.
Nope, I put taking one of my three long walks first.
Then I got the card ready to mail, sealed in the envelope, and turned my attention to my expense and budget tracking.
This method would only work for me if I put 15,000 steps in as one item.
Steps
Blog article
Mailing birthday card
Financial Freedom tracking tasks
Guitar practice would need to be combined with rehearsals
Decluttering and cleaning
I guess this is my least favorite of these three simple methods.
It feels constrictive and counter to my more “go with the flow” and “what’s most important and doable next” approach.
It would also cause me to combine tasks that I would rather do separately and with more intention.
Nevertheless, it is an option, and it might work great some days or for some personality types.
Probably not for me, though.
What Did I Learn Doing This Comparison?
I like the first two methods better.
The Rule of Three would work great if I had started the year more strategically and determined to achieve three big things.
But I didn’t. I was kind of loose.
If I had put a third One Hit Wonder into place, it would have been playing 100 open-mic shows this year.
As it stands, I have about 30 under my belt. And I am fine with that.
Perhaps next year. We will see.
The 1-3-5 method works great for what I have set myself up to do this year.
By default, then, I think the 3-3-3 method could work, too.
My One Hit Wonders would make up the three (3) hours of deep work.
but really, they take more like four to five hours of deep work.
And is walking really deep work?
That feels like a bit of a stretch.
Practice, rehearsals, and getting the birthday card into the mail would make up the three (3) smaller tasks.
Then decluttering and cleaning would be one of the maintenance tasks.
I could probably come up with other tasks to fulfill the second and third spots, but I am not sure what they would be.
Would taking a shower and getting ready for the day count?
Devil in the details.
That’s the point of this and the next article.
Something Can sound great until you actually put it into practice.
Tomorrow, I will come back to the 3-3-3 Method and do a deeper comparison between it and the 1-3-5 Method.