Disclaimer — If you feel this article may be “TL;DR” (Too Long, Didn’t Read), no worries! It’s filled with valuable insights and strategies for developing your personalized system to get things done. Start by skimming the headlines to get the gist and save it to read in small chunks later.
To give you a quick preview, here are the Top 3 Takeaways:
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Build a System That Works for You: Cherry-pick elements from proven strategies like the 90-90-1 Rule, the 3-3-3 Strategy (links below), and color-coded scheduling to create a flexible and tailored approach to productivity.
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Focus on the Most Important Tasks: Prioritize what truly matters over what simply seems important. Align your efforts with long-term impact and meaningful goals.
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Don’t Chase Perfection: No system is flawless. The key is to continuously refine and adapt based on your changing needs and priorities.
Feel free to explore the post at your own pace—it’s designed to be both actionable and inspirational. Let’s turn that overwhelming “to-do” list into a triumphant “ta-da” list! ✨
We’ve all been there: juggling a demanding career, family responsibilities and the relentless tide of life’s big projects and little to-do’s. It’s easy to feel like you’re just spinning your wheels, getting nowhere fast.
But here’s the thing — We all have the same amount of time, so if what you’re doing now isn’t working, Change it! By combining a few proven strategies and building a system that’s personalized and trusted, you can turn your overwhelming “to-do” list into a triumphant “ta-da” list.
Let’s dive into my own personal productivity system and favorite hacks that help me get things done without losing my sanity.
Build a Personal Productivity System
Before we jump into specific strategies, let’s talk big picture. One reason you may still be struggling is that you’ve used one system, and it didn’t work for you for one reason or another. I’ve been there, done that. Then it dawned on me, I can cherry pick and choose elements of different systems. Use what works and lose the rest.
If you want to consistently get things done, you need a personal productivity system tailored to your unique needs and style. The best systems are built from a blend of concepts and techniques that align with your personal preferences and help you produce positive results.
Here’s how I developed mine:
- Integrate Proven Strategies: My system pulls together the best elements of the 90-90-1 rule, the 3-3-3 strategy and scheduling (described in detail below). This gives me a solid framework that’s both structured and flexible.
- Review and Refine Regularly: Every week, I carve out time to review what worked well and where I can make small improvements. It’s not about overhauling the system; it’s about determining what’s working, what’s not and tweaking it for greater efficiency and increased impact.
- Stay Flexible: The beauty of a personalized system is that it can evolve with you. As priorities shift, I adapt my approach to keep pace.
Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.
– Benjamin Franklin, an American polymath: a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher
AL’s Insight: Don’t waste time chasing the “perfect” system. It doesn’t exist. Also, what works today may not ten years from now when you’re in a different season of life. The goal is to find what fits your style now and adjust it over time. Keep it simple and adaptable, and you’ll see results!
What Gets Scheduled Gets Done
The more you schedule, the less overwhelmed you feel.
— Marie Forleo, an American entrepreneur and founder of Marie Forleo International
Let’s get real: Planning is great; however, planning doesn’t get $h*t done. If it’s not on your calendar, it’s probably not happening. Scheduling is the most powerful way to turn your intentions into actions.
Here’s the thing: Everything we do, even when we’re not doing anything, takes time. And each of us has the same allocation each day, 24 hours or 1,440 minutes depending on how you slice it. So, become a time shifter and make every minute count.
Proactive eats reactive for breakfast: Avoid the trap of letting your email in-box become your de facto to-do list that anyone can write on by proactively scheduling tasks on your calendar. Yes, that means when you’re planning your week, block time to do the work. When you schedule an appointment with yourself to work on something, you’re making a commitment to get it done.
When someone asks to meet with you at that time, you can truthfully say that your calendar is booked at that time and suggest an alternative. That said, use good judgement. If another leader whose time may be more limited than yours requests a meeting, it’s likely in your best interest to flex and move the appointment with yourself to another time. Flexibility wins the day!
Color Code Everything
Color-coding your calendar helps time-batch your tasks (aka Time Blocking) and stay focused. It also provides a visual that helps you balance your day or week at-a-glance. Too much of any one color is a sign things aren’t balanced, which may be okay for a week or two… but that’s not sustainable. Both Outlook and Gmail make color-coding easy to do.
Here’s the system I use:
- Blue for meetings: Ad-hoc and recurring meetings and check-ins.
- Red for urgent / time-sensitive tasks: Deadlines or high-priority items that require immediate attention.
- Orange for routine tasks: Administrative tasks, reporting and other regular recurring tasks.
- Gold for focused time: Set aside time for deep work, daily if possible but at least once a week.
- Green for growth and development activities: These are your high-impact projects and tasks that drive progress. It also includes personal and professional development.
- Purple for Personal Activities: Personal appointments and family commitments. This also includes planning and down time.
AL’s Insight: The visual layout gives you a clear overview of your day, week or month (depending on your view) helping you balance your time and maintain focus on what matters most. While there are benefits to time blocking, you may want to make adjustments if you see too much of any one color on any given day or week.
Reserve Time for Strategic Thinking and Planning
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.
— Henry Ford, an American industrialist and business magnate.
We often cram our schedules with back-to-back meetings and tasks, leaving no room for deep work, strategic thinking and planning. That’s why I started Meeting-Free Fridays — a day dedicated to reflection, planning and creative work. This block of uninterrupted time also allows me to step back, assess my week and set clear priorities for the week ahead.
Meeting-Free Fridays help me finish the week strong and start the next one even stronger. It’s a simple but effective way to gain clarity and stay on top of long-term projects.
AL’s Insight: Even if you can’t dedicate an entire day, block out a few hours each week for thinking, planning and deep work. It’s a small investment that pays big dividends in clarity and productivity.
According to Lisa Bodell’s “Nano Tips for Strategic Thinking” on LinkedIn Learning, a good guide is as follows:
- C-Suite Executives: 1 hour per day.
- Leaders: 1 hour each week.
- Individual contributors: At least 1 hour each month.
The 90-90-1 Rule: Start Your Day with a Power Move
The 90-90-1 Rule, coined by Robin Sharma, is a simple yet transformative strategy. Here’s the gist:
For the next 90 days, spend the first 90 minutes of your workday on your #1 priority. No distractions, no interruptions. It’s just you and what Leo Babauta refers to as your Most Important Task (MIT).
Why start this way? Because your focus, decision-making ability and willpower are strongest in the morning. By dedicating this time to deep, uninterrupted work, you set a productive tone for the rest of your day and make tangible progress on your biggest goals.
3-3-3 Strategy: Flexible Focus for Maximum Impact
The 3-3-3 Strategy, inspired by Oliver Burkeman, is about focusing on what matters without getting bogged down by scheduling that’s too rigid.
Here’s how it works:
- 3 Hours on Your Most Important Task / Project: Dedicate the first three hours of your working day to deep, focused work on your highest priority task. Decide what this will be the day before and set a clear goal for the progress you want to achieve.
- 3 Shorter Tasks (Quick Wins): Tackle three smaller tasks that need to get done. These might include handling a time-sensitive issue, responding to emails or following up on a call. Clearing these off your plate quickly helps you maintain momentum.
- 3 Maintenance Activities (Keep It Running): Focus on three maintenance tasks that keep your life and work running smoothly. This could include exercise, clearing your inbox or organizing your workspace.
Planning to do less provides you with the freedom to do more.
— Oliver Burkeman, a British author and journalist
AL’s Insight: The strength of the 3-3-3 method is its flexibility. It provides structure while allowing you to adapt based on the day’s demands. It’s not about doing everything; it’s about prioritizing what matters most while taking care of what needs to get done. If you need help determining your priorities, you’ll find Ruthless Prioritization: The Heartbeat of Relentless Focus helpful.
Give Up the Important for the Most Important
A guiding principle I’ve found valuable comes from a Central Figure of the Baha’i Faith who said “… give up the important for the most important.” This idea emphasizes the need to prioritize actions that have the greatest impact, even if it means sacrificing something that seems important on the surface.
In the context of the Baha’i Faith, service to humanity is “the most important,” which often refers to actions that contribute to the betterment of society, unity and peace, which are core teachings of the Baha’i Faith.
In practice, this might mean skipping a recurring meeting to focus on a high-impact project or choosing to volunteer for a good cause rather than attending a social event. It’s a reminder to align your efforts with what truly matters, serves others and contributes to long-term growth and making the world a better place.
AL’s Insight: Ask yourself, “Is this the most impactful use of my time right now?” When you prioritize the most important tasks, you’re not just getting things done — you’re making meaningful progress.
Ruthlessly Delegate and Automate
You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.
— James Clear, an American writer, best known for his book Atomic Habits.
Most tasks either vaporize (one-and-done) or recur (routine chores). Additionally, not every task deserves your time and attention. So, what’s your goal for these types of mundane tasks?
Delegate or automate as many of these as possible. That way you can focus on activities that build momentum and drive growth.
Asian Efficiency suggests the 3 Times Rule is a systematic method of solving recurring problems or optimizing tasks that you regularly repeat. Simply put, when you recognize anything that bothers you three times, you find a systematic and permanent solution to it.
AL’s Insight: In our family, for example, we automate bill payments, use delivery apps for some purchases and outsource certain projects. This frees up time for higher-value work that accumulates and contributes to a better quality of life and long-term success.
Even Incremental Progress Beats Procrastination
I can’t write an article about getting sh*t done without addressing the elephant in the room—procrastination.
Procrastination seems harmless at first—a task postponed here, a delay there—but over time, it adds up in ways we don’t realize. While we often avoid tasks because they seem overwhelming, the truth is, small consistent actions have exponential power.
Think of it this way… while I don’t ordinarily do math in public, here’s an equation that drives home my point:
AL’s Insight: Taking action is obviously a choice but understand that doing nothing is also a choice. And the choice is yours: stay stuck or start small—but start. Even incremental progress contributes to significant results over time.
There’s No Perfect System — But That’s Okay
The bottom line: The reality is that no productivity system is perfect. We’re all juggling multiple priorities and dealing with constant change. There’s just too much to keep in our heads. The key is to create a trusted system that blends smart strategies that include a bit of planning and a lot of flexibility—and most importantly work for you.
By integrating approaches like the 90-90-1 Rule, the 3-3-3 Strategy, Meeting-Free Fridays and a touch of wisdom from the Baha’i Faith, you’ll build a personalized system that helps you stay focused, adapt to the unexpected, make steady progress and ultimately achieve your goals. Over time, this turns your overwhelming “to-do” list into a “ta-da” list that showcases a solid track record of success.
Now go out there and find, implement and continuously refine what works for you, and get the $h*t done that really matters!
Inspire On!
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