The Big Three

You have so many individual tasks you need to get done. And you don’t have enough time to do them. I’m not trying to be morbid here. I’m trying to be realistic. Life is a non-stop conveyor belt of tasks, meetings, lunches, chores, bills, holidays, obligations–you’ll never reach the end.

Meanwhile, your dreams are somewhere in the mix. The person you’ve always wanted to be, and the life you’ve always wanted, lies somewhere in, or maybe beyond, all these tasks.

So, in an ocean of incomplete tasks, how do we accomplish the goals we wrote down in January? How do we achieve what’s truly important for our careers, our communities, and our consciences? 

The answer? The Big Three.

The concept of The Big Three comes from productivity sage Michael Hyatt, who encourages his readers to write down three big tasks for the day. He says if we accomplish those things, no matter how crazy the rest of the day gets with chores and obligations, we’ll still have a productive day. We’ll still move the needle on our dreams.

The tasks in your Big Three have to be achievable in one day. If they’re too big, break them out into smaller pieces. They also have to be connected to your long-term goals. Finally, they have to move the needle toward success. No hiding here. If you feel resistance to do one of your big three, that’s a great indication that it’s probably important. Sweeping the shop floor in case a customer comes in shouldn’t be on The Big Three. Standing outside and inviting customers inside should be. 

Each day we stack small bricks on the city of our dreams, that will never be built otherwise. With The Big Three, you can stack three bricks today.

Good luck out there.