3-3-3 Method - Oliver Burkemen

What is the 3/3/3 Method?

The simple idea: Each workday is filled with three types of activities: 3 hours of focused work (deep work) 3 short tasks (urgent/quick) 3 maintenance activities (daily routines)

The Basic Principle: Closed List

The 3/3/3 method is a closed list.

This means: you only work on the things you have chosen.

• Not an endless to-do list
• But a list with a limited and controlled number of slots

As Oliver Burkeman says:

‘You can't keep adding things endlessly and expect everything to get done.’

Want to be productive? The key: limit the contents.

Two Lists, Two Functions

Oliver Burkeman uses this system:

1. Open List (Wild Ideas) Include everything that comes to mind:
   • “Want to start a podcast”
   • “Research new topics”
   • “Change Netflix password”
2. Closed List (Focus Slots: Max 10) You pick 10 items from the open list (drag item from open list to closed list) Those are the only things you can work on You can’t add more until something is finished Once completed, change the status to “completed”

The goal?

So your brain doesn’t panic seeing 100 tabs of ideas, and you can tackle them one by one.

Brief Flow

1. Project → create a parent task.
2. Task → assign to project, save in Open List.
3. Closed List → move weekly priority tasks (max 10).
4. Day Page → select tasks for today, place in Deep / Short / Maintenance categories.
5. Completed → mark as completed, keep list clean.