First, let me give credit where credit is due. It was Melissa Camara Wilkins who first introduced me to the 3-Item To Do List.
I have used it ever since. And I’d love to recommend it to you.
For most of my life, I was the person with a mile long to-do list next to me at all times, often carrying over from day-to-day and week-to-week. But no longer.
For the past several months, I have been using a 3-Item To Do List exclusively—and I have found it to increase my productivity and work satisfaction significantly.
The 3-Item To Do List is as simple and profound as it sounds. At the beginning of each day, I take time to identify and articulate the three most important items for me to accomplish.
For example, my To Do List for today consists of these three items:
- Write a blog post for Becoming Minimalist
- Set agenda for our next Hope Effect Board of Directors’ Meeting
- Put final touches on an article pitch for a major publication
That’s it! Three items—all significant, all important, all entirely manageable.
Now, almost certainly, there are other work-related things I will do today: post to Facebook, answer e-mail, text a peer. But my three main identified projects will always take precedence.
The short list approach keeps me focused on the most important tasks I need to accomplish.
But I have found other benefits as well. The shorter list keeps me from feeling overwhelmed. The shorter list also helps me overcome procrastination—the finish line is always in sight.
Additionally, and equally important, the 3-Item List provides a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. This benefit is the main one that Melissa articulates—she even refers to it as an “Enough List.” When the list is completed, there is a sense of finality. She says it like this:
Now instead of ending each day feeling like I’ve fallen behind, I have a built-in sense of accomplishment in the evenings. I finished my three things! I did what mattered most!
The importance of identifying the three most important things to accomplish in a day is revolutionary regardless of where you apply it. It is a helpful productivity hack at work. It can be used equally well by a stay-at-home mom or dad. It can be uniquely tailored for a hobby or side-business.
In order to accomplish our most important tasks, it is essential to remain focused on them. The 3-Item To Do List accomplishes that and requires you to identify them anew each morning.
About Joshua Becker
I first saw your site by a friends post. These last few yrs have been very difficult. i am excited to have something to strive for. i have a mild hoard, not like the tv show, but definitely messy areas, closets id be super embarrassed if anyone entered, full disgusting basement of unnecessary stuff, etc. i plan to tackle it this summer. i love so many of your posts! keep on keeping on and thank you so much!
I have fallen in love with 3 item todos. It helped me tremendously to be more productive and more satisfied with my day at the same time. I couldnt find a good iOS app to use so I have created one called 3 Big Things. Maybe it will help someone else as well :) check it out here : tinyurl.com/lqsjnwq
Yes!
It was a difficult transition to start practicing minimalism by limiting top priorities. Having only 3 items on my previously impossible “To Do” list has helped me feel like I am winning instead of going to bed more behind than when I woke up.
Two personal tweaks to manage my focus/memory weaknesses –
1. I have started making my Big 3 list the night before. Otherwise I can get distracted and jump into a dozen other directions before I even think of writing my list if I wait till morning.
2. I have to keep running lists in my phone organized by topics of just about every thought that crosses my mind, e.g. “Go,” “Calls,” “Deadlines,” etc – each with a date assigned. Even “clean bathrooms” and other housekeeping tasks are designated to repeat weekly. No sound notifications, though. I consult these lists when my Big 3 are done to create my Little 3.
Great idea this, and have been using it for a year or so. It makes such a difference. I don’t use it every day, just when I’m struggling with too many things on my mind.
And, if I tick off the 3 things with time to spare, then I write another three.
A neat way to implement it is to write the three things on the back of old business cards, and prop it in front of you.
Or, a write them in a daily diary, (I have found the ye olde paper based diaries more effective for managing time and appointments, as I was becoming notification blind with devices)
I love this idea! My full list overwhelms me. I think I can handle 3 things. I think I will make 2 lists of three—one for work and one for my personal life. I feel less stressed already…
Great post! This tip is really helpful in becoming more focused on what matters most. Sometimes, the longer the list, the more disoriented and unfocused we are. Thanks for this! :)
I have been doing this, instinctually, for years. Didn’t know it was a real thing. I just call it my 1-2-3 Rule. Long to do lists are overwhelming. But who can’t do 3 things?
I find that this type of clear and feasible guidance represents 90% of the truly helpful information that is published today. Too much of the info clutter is just escapism & distraction & noise. Like Stephen Covey pointed out, (and as John referenced in an earlier comment) take care of the big rocks first.
It is the only way that I have found to keep making steady progress toward my much bigger goals. Break them down into important milestones, and tackle only a few of them each day or each weekend. Thank you!
thanks – I love this idea. I have also carried a long unmanageable list of things I thought had to get done. this helps me to focus.
In just a few weeks I will be 83 years old, and I am grateful for the blessings of every day – to be able to still do so much and to be able to think clearly, to have friends and family. But… almost every day I have a sense of frustration, even a sense of failure, because all that I can no longer get done. I don’t keep an organized written to do list, but the mental list is long and hounds me. It is possible to be grateful, recognizing the good, and still want to reach out for more – more to be, more to do, more to accomplish. This very day I will start the 3 item list and use that for my focus. Thank you for this wonderful idea.
For the past few years part of my morning routine has been to identify my top 3 goals for the day. They are not always specific work tasks, however; sometimes they are more about connection or taking time to pause and rest. But getting clear on my top 3 helps me live a more purposeful, joyful life:)
This a good tool that will help me on my work everyday. It is sometimes chaotic when working at a home base job for me. Had to balance work and home since I am the errand girl in the house. Thanks for sharing.
This is a great tool for me to implement! I am awful about having 20+ items on my to-do list, setting reminders, and carrying them over day to day. I never feel accomplished when I do that. I will definitely start the 3 item to-do list! Thanks for sharing!
Implementing this exercise made me realize how UNfocused I really am. I watched myself trying to do my three activities this morning, and I ended up having to stop sidebar activities several times to plough through. I’ve decided my plan will be to just make a new three item list once I finish the first one. I’m thinking I will find a way to apply this theory to my finances as well.
I’m going to try this starting today! I’ve definitely found myself getting distracted by all the little things lately and overlooking my ‘big rocks’ … hopefully this helps :)
I’ve been doing more like a weekly goal thing, but then I get to the end of the week and those, perhaps overly-ambitious goals, have not been accomplished. This might be a better idea….
I’ve been using this same approach for about a month and it has totally increased my productivity! I’m recently laid off and starting my own business and using a 3 item to do list has definitely helped me get organized and focus on what’s most important.
I’m using an android app, Fabulous: Motivate Me, to help develop positive habits and this was one of them. The app’s approach to habit changing is evidence based, and even though I’m working through it a little more slowly than its designed, it’s working for me.
Spot on, Josh!
It takes the pressure of a huge list away.
I set my 3 most important tasks (MITs) every morning.
As long as I accomplish those 3 things, my day was productive.
Hey Josh, yeah, the longer your to-do list, the more dreadful you will feel. I used to have a long to-do list too, but now I have narrow the list down to 5 instead of 3 like yours. :)
I followed Robin Sharma’s advice. He said that just do 5 small things a day, and within a year, you will be having 1825 victories, and that will be life-changing.
So like you, I commit and focus in taking only 5 action steps a day. No more than that.
Thanks for sharing…
Have you read “The Renaissance Soul”?
Seriously, that simple. My life is totally about lists. Sometimes, I need a list for my list…oh, that sounds bad. I will give the 3 To-Do list approach a try. Thanks.
I love this. I read not very long ago something about “upper limits” and how we as humans tend to thrive with them and so I did a test where I ONLY read 20 pages of my book each day. I do it in the morning and at 20 pages, I stop and move onto the next item in my morning routine. Guess what? I’ve read more books in three months than I read all of last year and that’s because I don’t put off reading, I do it b/c I can easily manage 20 pages. This simple idea changed my life and made me so much more productive.
Genius idea & so true! Now just have to remember to use it!
I do much the same but make my list of three the night before. That way, unless an item is do x/go to apt. v before 9 AM, I wake up and start the day as I like: juice on the deck, listening to birds, celebrating feeling well enough, or morning newspaper, w an English muffin, a kind of breakfast in bed, whatever, but not with my to do listing drafting shaping mood of my morning. Start with to be, get to “to do”, list already made, when I feel like it. Or right after lunch.
I like to keep a master list of things to do and pick three things a day to accomplish. Usually I will pick one thing that can be done quickly and two things that take some time. Getting three things done gives me a sense of accomplishment. If I choose to do more…that’s icing on the cake!
Since retiring I have been doing something similar. Similar in the idea of not being overwhelmed and yet feeling like I have been productive at the end of the day.
I have a list of things to do. The list is more like a dozen items ranging from cleaning out a particular drawer to writing a particular letter. Each item could take five minutes to maybe an hour. Each day I accomplish two from that list depending on my mood and time that I want to spend.
At the end of the day I feel good about removing items from the list. Once in awhile I have a vacation day. Now and then I add to the list as something comes to my attention.
I enjoy reading your posts. Your thoughts and lessons are cumulative and are transforming this once multi-tasker. I get distracted so easily. Now I’m learning to toss the many extras in my home and get down to a 3 point to do list.
having a list of things to do on daily basis is very importnt.its like you always have a goal. You do things which are arleady programed. no time waisting on un profitable issue.
Oherwise it is a good stuff.
I’ve been doing this for awhile now in my bullet journal. Wanting to stay balanced and hit all my big rocks I pick one thing for the office, one thing for the home, and one thing for me. It seems to work well.
I love this idea as well. I have a to-do list that is almost a full page long when printed out (I use OneNote to create my lists). Right now I include on my to-do list all the regular, daily things I need to do that I don’t want to forget. That probably sounds silly, but I work in an interrupt-driven business, and I can get to the end of the day and realize I never some routine task, and I’m scrambling to get that done (sometimes after we’ve closed for the day and I should be on my way home) so we’re ready for the next day. Some days it gets so hectic that if I didn’t have these things written down, I would forget to do them. So it makes the list quite long.
After reading and thinking about this, I’m going to separate out those routine daily tasks into a separate reminder list and then do a 3-5 item to-do list. Three sounds lovely but some days there will be more than that that have to be done that day. And I’m thinking I’ll create a separate “future” list to help me keep track of things that need to be done either short- or long-term so I don’t forget, and then I can pull the daily three from that future list.
Thanks for sharing! :)
This will now be my new habit. Done. I love it.
Thanks Joshua for sharing. I like the idea! :)
Thank you. I love this idea! The to-do list in my head is so long, I don’t even right it down. I will implement this today!!!
Oops — write it down. LOL
Maybe start by printing the 1000 things to do list fist. That way, yet know that you are not gonna forget all the to dos and it gives you peace to focus on the 3 most important things for the current day. Having 2 miles of to do in your head will only clutter your focus. So white them out , on a computer , and then, every morning, find TODAYS 3 TO DOs ????
And keep your long list within reach, so when you get new to do ideas, you put them there. Then ,if they are important,they will find their way to your top 3 or wet will just do them when your top 3 is done. And you have the rest of the day for other tasks. ☺☺ you sound like me, and this is what I will try to do, after reading this post from Joshua today . ☺????
Nice idea. I’m newly self-employed / unemployed, and am having a rough time developing a rhythm to my day and staying focused. Might give this a shot!
Good stuff! I have been applying this technique for years and refer to it (literally on my electronic calendar task listing) as “Triorities.”
Love your name for the big three.
I am the opposite. I NEED detailed lists.
Yes, I have ASD so I need to make a list of what I need to do, right from the get-go, and it *must* be in the order that I want to do the things. I get quite lost if I do things out of order!
This is freedom personified!
The load is lifted, the tasks get done. We move more lightly, think more clearly, act more purposefully.
Love this!
Will be sharing this over on my LinkedIn page …
Reminds me of a talk I attended, years ago. I think it was about optimism. The speaker said, “My mother has a daily to-do list. The first two items are “Get up” and “Eat breakfast”. That way, she can start her day by checking off two items already!
I am one of those people with the interminable to-do list, and I’m just learning to select the daily priorities. After taking the Coursera course “Learning How to Learn”, I am also using the Pomodoro Technique, which consists of breaking your tasks down to 25-minute periods, then switching tasks or taking a break. So far, so good.
LOL…1st item on my daily list is MAKE LIST
I do this too. I timed my housework and found that I could do most tasks like dusting, windexing, vaccuming, etc in 30 minutes or less. I pick 2 or 3 a day and by the end of the week, it all gets done. Obliviously things like dishes and laundry take time but you are not steadily at it so I work around those. I am decluttering every day. That never ends but my house is always company ready now.
I am a big believer in the 3 items on my list, i can manage 3 things, this method is manageable and i can concentrate on what i am doing, thats great for me, i seem to do things properly/thoroughly, you save more time in the long run, tasks are completed and not half done.
thanks josh
xxxxxJacquelinexxx
I’ve just found your wonderful blog. I’m going through a period of questioning everything upto this point, massive office, so many many books, trinkets that remind me of things, I’ve been working so hard to get something or somewhere…
And I’ve not get there.
At home with a bad back has forced me to not go to the office and work from home, reducing the times I check email, finally getting rid of the trinkets on the table, saving money not constantly being on a supermarket.
It’s now time for adventure.
Thank you for your wonderful blog, looking forward to reading more and the journey to a saner, happier, cleaner mind.
I’ve just found your wonderful blog. I’m going through a period of questioning everything upto this point, massive office, so many many books, trinkets that remind me of things, I’ve been working so hard to get something or somewhere…
And I’ve not get there.
At home with a bad back has forced me to not go to the office and work from home, reducing the times I check email, finally getting rid of the trinkets on the table, saving money not constantly being on a supermarket.
It’s now time for adventure.
Thank you for your wonderful blog.
You may not have gotten THERE yet but you did get all the way to HERE. It will happen.
A simple and effective approach. Reminds me of Stephen Covey’s “big rocks” before the “pebbles” lesson. Thanks for the reminder, I need to adopt this!
I agree, John P. Weiss. Stephen Covey had/has some good stuff!
I do something similar, except it’s a 5 thing list. I wrote a web app to us on my phone which automatically wipes the slate clean every night, forcing me to re-evaluate what the most important 5 things I have each day.
Joshua;
I agree that a short to do list combat procrastination. You tell your self that anyone that is serious about accomplishments can complete 3 task. I use the WinStreak App to help me complete my task during the day.
Thanks for sharing this tool, Joshua! It’s a major factor in keeping my days sane and happy. I hope others find it just as useful.
So simple yet brilliant. My honey – do list will never be the same!