STYLE Savvy: The Big Three

About a month ago, I started using a strategy I'm calling the Big 3. Each day, I decide which three things are my top priorities for the day, and then I write them down.

And you know what? This one's a keeper.

If you're like me, you've tried any number of strategies when it comes to organization and time management, only to abandon some of them even before the ink was dry on the note you wrote to yourself. Some are too complicated, others too time-consuming. And then, of course, there's the biggest flaw of all.

The plan doesn't fit your styles.

[tweet "Does your time-management system fail? Maybe the plan doesn't fit your style. By @L2Hess"]

I started the Big 3 because I have a tendency to never be satisfied with what I accomplish. I focus too much on what I've left undone, and not enough on what I've accomplished. Or, I swing from one extreme to the other, overdoing it one day and crashing the next. I needed a strategy that would even things out, helping me to establish a steady flow of successes. Successes are, after all, the foundation of STYLE.

I'm happy to report that, one month in, the Big 3 is working quite well. Some days, I've even been tempted to expand it to the Big 5, because, after all, if 3 is good, isn't 5 better?

Um, no. No, it's not.

The purpose of the Big 3 was to increase the likelihood that I'd not only accomplish what I set out to do, but also that I'd have time to do other things -- maybe even fun things -- as well. When something is working, don't stretch it to the breaking point. Adapt, if you must, but don't ruin a perfectly good strategy by pushing it beyond its limits -- or pushing yourself beyond your limits.

Like so many strategies, the Big 3 arose over time, in response to a problem I identified in my own life. Consequently, I set it up so it would fit me and my needs.

Could the Big 3 work for you? Maybe. But adapting someone else's idea wholesale isn't always the best plan.

I love this idea, but maybe you won't.

You might prefer a different number, or, you might like writing down the most important thing, and planning your day around it.

You might like focusing on just two things -- one for early in the day and one for later in the day.

Perhaps you're more of a backwards to-do list person, or, conversely,  you survive on one big, long list that includes everything you need to accomplish for the foreseeable future.

Whatever plan you set up, remember to be realistic. Writing focused goals is helpful, but it doesn't add more hours to the day or more spring to your step. If you're not in the mood to put something on the top of the list today and it doesn't have an immediate deadline, save it for tomorrow.

Whatever you do, let your styles be your guide.

Copyright 2017 Lisa Hess