The Rule of 3 is one of my favorite productivity rituals. It involves a simple exercise: mentally leap forward to the end of each day and ask what three things you want to have accomplished in that period.
I love this habit because of how elemental it is: you can pick only three things, and while doing so, you must fast-forward to a point in the future to reflect on a day (or week or month or year) before it has happened. Stepping into the shoes of our future selves is an underrated productivity strategy. By thinking about the path you want to create, you’re more likely to follow it.
With my future-self in mind, I recently started to fast-forward and ask another question: what do I want to be proud of?
Pride is generally an emotion encountered only when looking backward. But we can also experience it when looking forward to each day, each month, each year, each decade, and even to the end of our life when imagining what we were able to accomplish in that time.
Maybe, in a few years, you want to be proud of your fitness level; of how comfortable you feel not only in your clothes, but also in your skin. Maybe you want to feel proud of a book you wrote, a group of people you helped, or the relationship built with your partner.
These sources of pride will be different for everyone, but what is consistent is that this is a question worth reflecting on. Thinking of your future accomplishments, however big or small, is a great way to uncover new goals while still being true to your values.
