Sometimes, determining which projects you should devote your time and energy to first takes energy you don’t have to spare (which is why we have tips for how to do it). But even when you know what tasks need to be done, you still need to figure out how to prioritize them. Try the 3-3-3 method.
What is the 3-3-3 method?
This technique comes from Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals ($13.99). He advocates planning each workday around a 3-3-3 model, first devoting three hours to deep work on your most important project. Next, complete three other urgent tasks that don’t require three hours of focus. Finally, do three “maintenance” tasks, like cleaning, answering emails, or scheduling other work.
To figure out which tasks are which, I recommend a prioritization method like the Eisenhower matrix, which involves using a quadrant system to divvy up your responsibilities by urgency and importance. You'll want to consider not only how timely the things you need to do are, but also how many resources they'll consume.
If you don't consider yourself a morning person and aren't sure you can jump into a heavy workload right away in the day, it's not necessarily a problem. Play around with the technique, maybe starting later in the morning and pushing your lunch back. I find this approach helpful, for instance, because starting my work with a major three-hour effort helps set the tone for the day, but I'm also useless in the morning, so I really only buckle down around 10:30 every day. The goal here is to be discerning about what you take on in a day and work in the right order to maximize productivity, but you have a little wiggle room, so try a few approaches to your schedule to see what works.
Why the 3-3-3 method works
What distinguishes this method from other productivity hacks are those first three hours of deep work. Jumping into them first means you’ll be fresh, focused, and more likely to be able to focus on a task without getting distracted. Keep those three hours free of emails, texts, chit-chat, or other menial duties, to the best of your ability. (Check out a full guide to engaging in deep work here.)
Deep work yields major productivity, so you’ll get a lot accomplished if you commit to it, but you can’t stay in that mindset forever. You’ll top out after about three hours, so it’s best to have those three other, smaller tasks lined up and ready to go so you can stay productive even while downshifting into less demanding responsibilities. After three hours in the zone, you should find that those tasks are easier.
Finally, your maintenance tasks give you a chance to get things done while giving your brain a rest. This technique is similar to “eating the frog”—or doing your hardest task first thing—as you’ll feel the same sense of relief when moving onto lesser tasks. Use your maintenance time to prepare for the following day’s work or put finishing touches on whatever you were working on during those three hours of intense focus.
You can use this technique to tackle seven different tasks of varying urgency levels or to break one major project down into smaller chunks, depending on what your day needs. Just be sure to stick with the process, starting with the big lift and finishing off with the little jobs that keep it all flowing.
