Being consistently productive is hard work and it takes a lot of discipline to maintain. There are tasks and projects coming at you from colleagues. We all run the risk of information overload thanks to websites, RSS feeds and – most recently – social media. Even if you have a system in place there are times when it is going to seem impossible to keep up with everything.
So don’t.
If you can get three big things done per day (Leo Babauta refers to them as MITs or Big Rocks), then you’re winning. You’ll most certainly handle little things here and there that you come across throughout your day – routine stuff – but if you decide that you must get three big things done every day, you’re being really productive. Be sure to prioritize them accordingly, otherwise you’re going to be doing some tasks that may not move you forward as much as others might. The mind works well with the number three. Two seems easy and four seems a bit daunting, but three is like Baby Bear’s porridge…just right.
This isn’t anything new, of course. Productivity experts have been preaching this in some form or another for years. We just tend to forget about it every once in a while.
So if you find that you’re getting caught up and your wheels start spinning, just roll up your sleeves and do three big things. You’ll end up doing bigger things down the road if you do.
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