How to Plan Your Day Realistically: The 1-3-5 Rule
Have you ever planned a to-do list for the day, only to feel frustrated at the end by how few tasks got accomplished? Chances are, you overestimated the amount of work you could get done in one day. Heck, we all have overestimated our capabilities at one point. Some days we wake up and feel on top of the world! On these days, I feel like I can do anything! However, realistically, there’s only so much time in the day, no matter how optimistic or productive we are feeling. Recently I learned a new strategy for planning a productive day. This strategy is called the “1-3-5″ rule. It’s so simple and easy you won’t believe you never thought of it!
Step 1: 1- The One stands for one big task. Obviously, big, medium and small are pretty subjective. So it may take some time to figure out what tasks fall into these categories.
Here are some examples of “big tasks” in my life: writing a rough draft of a paper, studying for an upcoming test, completing an online training module for my job, cleaning my room.
Step 2: 3- The three stands for three medium tasks. I define a medium task as things that take significant time, but not the majority of the day.
Examples of medium tasks in my life: laundry, dishes, reading assignments, shopping and meal prep.
Step 3- 5 The five stands for five small, easy to accomplish tasks.
Example of small tasks from my life include: answering a quick e-mail, scheduling an appointment, taking out the trash, planning for tomorrow/next week, and papers less than 3 pages in length.
Basically, the goal is never to expect to accomplish more than 9 tasks with this breakdown. If you are in an optimistic mood, or have a surplus of free time and want to try to do more than 9 tasks, you can, but be careful of burn out, and also of any other negative feelings that could result from setting unrealistic goals for yourself.
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