I Tried the “1-3-5” Productivity Hack, and It Changed How I Look at My To-Do List
I live for a productivity hack. As someone who works from home and also works for themselves, staying focused is essential. Distractions abound at my house, from my 10-month-old puppy asking for attention to the couch beckoning for me to come sit, and having a system works incredibly well for me. I swear by the Pomodoro method and would be lost without it, but I’m always down for trying something new, just to shake things up a bit. Enter: the 1-3-5 Rule.
What Is the 1-3-5 Rule?
The 1-3-5 rule is essentially a very structured to-do list. Instead of a list full of tasks in bullet point form, the 1-3-5 rules introduces a hierarchy: You name one large task, three medium tasks, and five small tasks you can do each day. Not all tasks are created equal, and not all tasks take the same amount of time, so structuring your to-do list in this way is intended to help you stay focused and motivated, while keeping stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed at bay.
What Happened When I Tried the 1-3-5 Method
When I put this structured to-do list to the test, I was surprised by how challenging it was to put it together. This method includes nine tasks, and mine is usually three to five per day, so I really had to think about it. I decided to use this method the day before I went out of town for a work trip to help mitigate any pretravel scrambling. My 1-3-5 list looked like this.
1: Pack. Packing is a pretty major task (at least it is for me!), and completing this task gave me the highest reward at the end of the day. I think that’s a good marker to help you decide — what is the one thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference in your life, and will feel like the biggest victory once you’ve accomplished it? Having a packed bag the day before a morning flight was it for me.
3: Submit two work deadlines, and have dedicated inbox time. I was traveling during the week, so the day before was still a workday. I had a few loose ends to tie up, and I always spend a good amount of time sending emails every day, so I considered these medium tasks. I worked hard earlier in the week to be sure my workflow was relatively chill the day before I left, so these three tasks felt manageable.
5: Self-care tasks. The five little tasks should be quick and easy to accomplish. I thought five self-care moments would be a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the day. Mine included an afternoon walk, a real lunch break, drinking water, checking in to my flight, and a short midday meditation.
Moving through the day, I ended up accomplishing tasks a bit out of order. I wanted to get through my medium tasks first, so I could have plenty of time in the afternoon to focus on the one big task, packing. I did the small tasks throughout the day, which helped keep the momentum going. The small ones were nice to check off, especially since they helped me take intentional breaks throughout the day.
I did end up making another list specifically for packing, and even if I used the 1-3-5 method on a regular workday, I think I would end up breaking my largest task into smaller ones. Next time, I’ll try naming my one large task, and then make the medium and small tasks part of accomplishing the highest priority. I have a tendency to overcommit, and breaking down my big goals is essential or else I get overwhelmed. At the end of the day, I was able to check everything off of my 1-3-5 list and felt incredibly satisfied with the work I did. A win!
All in all, I liked this new productivity method, but I haven’t fallen in love yet. A 1-3-5- list is meant to help, not overwhelm, and feeling the need to make a to-do list for my to-do list was not quite what I was going for. Still, thinking about tasks in order of importance really makes a difference — that part, I’ll be taking with me.
If you’re looking for a new productivity hack, give the 1-3-5 method a try and see what you think — just remember you can always take what works for you and leave behind what doesn’t.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
