How to make your to-do list work for you with the 1-3-5 method
A clever technique to banish unrealistic to-do lists and start showing those tasks who’s boss.
Humans just love to-do lists.
Lists can be a great tool for sorting through thoughts and deciding what to get done on a given day, and the only thing more gratifying than writing a to-do list is slowing ticking everything off one at a time.
So great is our love for to-do lists that we ambitiously give ourselves piles of work and tasks. Too many, in fact, to ever get done on a normal day.
We are terrible at predicting how productive we’ll actually be, which inevitably sets us up for failure and the negative feelings that come with it.
So instead of writing a huge to-do list and struggling to get through it, try the 1-3-5 to-do list, made popular by the executive vice chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Betty Liu. This method helps you to be realistic about your goals, and actually get things done.
Here’s how.
Pick one large task to begin your list. This could either be large in terms of the time it will take you, or large in terms of difficulty (or both!).
Next, choose three medium-sized tasks. These are not typically quick or easy, but won’t take half a day to complete either.
Finally, choose five quick, easy tasks to add to your list that only take 5-10 minutes each. This could be something like ‘call dentist to make a booking’ or ‘respond to X email’.
The 1-3-5 to-do list method works so well because it can help you realistically manage your workload rather than overloading yourself.
Here’s to actually crossing everything off your to-do list!
Looking for more tips on productivity? Try these.
