Hyperfocus

If you haven’t done so already
, this is a great time to create a 2 x 2 grid of your work
—sorting 
your standard monthly tasks based on whether they’re productive or unproductive and attractive 
or unattractive. The ironic thing about investing in your productivity is that it’s almost impossible to do when 
you’re slogging it out in the office trenches. There’s simply too much to keep up with—meetings, email chains, 
and project deadlines included. For this reason, the best productivity tactics are the ones that require you to 
step back and remove yourself from your work so you have the mental space to think critically about how you 
should approach that work differently. That way, when you return to work, you can do it more intelligently, 
instead of just harder. Figuring out your four types of work task
s is one of these “stepping back” activities. Now 
is the best time to do so
—especially before you read the very next section. It’ll take just five to ten minutes. 

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- 67 - 
In researching attention and intention over the last few years, I’ve developed a few 
favorite daily intention-setting rituals. Here are my top three. 
1. The Rule of 3 
You can probably skim this section if you’re familiar with material I’ve written in the past. 
If not, allow me to introduce the Rule of 3: 
at the start of each day, choose the three 
things you want to have accomplished by day’s end. 
While a to-do list is useful to 
capture the minutiae of the day, these three intention slots should be reserved for your 
most important daily tasks. 
I’ve done this little ritual every morning for several years, ever since learning about it 
from Microsoft’s director of digital transformation, J. D. Meier. The Rule of 3 is 
deceptively simple. By forcing yourself to pick just three main intentions at the start of 
each 
day, you accomplish several things. You choose what’s important but also what’s 
not
important
—the constraints of this rule push you to figure out what actually matters. 
The rule is also flexible within the constraints of your day. If your calendar is packed 
with meetings, those commitments may dictate the scope of your three intentions, while 
an appointment-free day means you can set intentions to accomplish more important 
and less urgent tasks. When unexpected tasks and projects come your way, you can 
wei
gh those new responsibilities against the intentions you’ve already set. Because 
three ideas fit comfortably within your 
attentional space, you can recall and 
remember your original intentions with 
relative ease. 
Make sure to keep your three intentions 
where you can see them
—I keep mine on 
the giant whiteboard in my office or, if I’m 
traveling, at the top of my daily to-do list, 
which is synced between devices in 
OneNote. If you’re like me, you may also 
find it handy to set three 
weekly
intentions, 
as well as three daily 
personal
intentions
—such as disconnecting from 
work during dinner, visiting the gym before 
heading home from the office, or gathering receipts for taxes.