3 by 3 System

In the 3 by 3 system, you set come up with the following at the beginning of every week:

• 3 Priorities for the Week
• 3 Tasks for the Day
• 3 Accomplishments for the Week
  • Assign hourly rate for every task $10, $100, $1,000, $10,000
  • Make sure time is explicitly made for $10,000/hr tasks
    • Don't make time for the other things, just do them as they come up
    • The value is inline with moving the ball forward

Calendar Breakdown

Below is an example of how your calendar can be set up for the week, but you can alter this schematic as needed.

• Monday Morning Planning (1 hr)
• Deep Work for 3.5 hrs a day
• Available for Others 1.5 hrs a day
• Clear Inbox and Slack (End of Day)
• Friday Review (1 hr)

Try to Schedule Meetings with your employees towards the end of the day, after you have achieved your own accomplishments. This helps prevent starting a week in a reactionary mode where your priorities are dictated by others.

Monday Planning

Every Monday, you want to stop and ask yourself the following questions.

1. What are my goals this week?
2. What did I accomplish last week?
3. What are the 3 Outcomes I want to accomplish this week.

You should want to celebrate these on Friday. If they don't make you celebrate, then you probably did not choose the right outcomes that you wanted to happen.

Tasking

• Priorities should be broken down into timebox'ed tasks
• Tasks should be 30 minutes to 90 minutes
  • This will force you to get as much as you can done in that timeframe.

Friday Review

1. What are the big wins for the week?
2. What are the big misses?
3. What are my priorities for the following week?

Annual Planning

• Set Annual Goals Once a Year
  • What I want to focus on for that year.
  • Quarterly Review: What progress have I made so far?
  • Weekly system to move ball forward on the goals that were set.

Other Notes

Waking up in the morning and checking your inbox is the equivalent to waking up every day and asking other people to dictate your priorities.

The problem with To-Do lists is that they are really "Could Do" lists. They are a list of open options that can be subjectively selected based on your feelings and motivations, and they end up transforming and getting jumbled up over time, leaving with you without any control.

The way you structure your work in the day will dictate what happens at the end of your day.

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