How do you finish everything on your to-do list? Chances are you rarely get that far. Why do I say this? Because most of us only finish about half of the tasks on our to-do lists. 

What if I told you that even if you don't get through your to-do list on most days, you can still be extremely successful in college? Here’s a little secret—this is 100% true. Keep reading and I'll show you why…

About Test Prep Champions

A common misconception is that being productive in college means getting a lot of work done. This is insane!

College productivity is really about how much important work you get done.

See, most things on your to-do list won’t actually impact your final class grades much. These low value activities are deceptive—like a birthday candle you swore was out.

You can avoid this recipe for disaster by figuring out which tasks really matter, and doing them first. This isn’t to say everything on your list isn’t important—just that not everything is equally important. 

On an ideal day, you’ll get through everything. You’re smart enough though to know that ideal days rarely come...Thus, counting on them only leads to frustration.

By now you might be asking yourself something like doesn’t everyone already know this? Maybe. But their actions show otherwise.

The reason so many diligent students spend hours study while still failing to accomplish much is because they don’t approach their work strategically.

Have you ever stayed out late with your friends Saturday night, then spent all Sunday afternoon in the library, but still barely got anything done by the end of the day?

There’s nothing worse than putting a lot of time into your work, and then still struggling to finish before the deadlines.

Losing sleep when you have to study because you put something off until the last minute doesn’t feel good. But losing sleep when you have study and you've actually been trying to keep up with your classes feels much worse.

Fortunately, there's a solution...

What I’m proposing is a strategy I came up with that I call the Triple Threat Method.

Why do I call it the Triple Threat Method? I call it the Triple Threat Method because it has 3 parts: 3 questions, 3 tasks, and 3 rounds.

The Triple Threat Method transforms your to-do list from a stresser into a game. It has the potential to raise your productivity like baking soda raises batter.

You earn points for completing tasks based on how important they are. You maximize your score by finishing your most important to-do list items daily. Everything you do after that is just icing on the cake. 

Sound like a sweet deal? Great! Let’s get started. I've summed the Triple Threat Method up in the infographic below. 

Let's now look at each of the 3 components—3 Questions, 3 Tasks, 3 Rounds—more in-depth.

First, pull out your to-do list if you have one. If not, that’s okay! Just follow along as if you do. If you need help making one, see this to-do list tutorial. 

As you go down your list, look at each item and ask yourself the following three questions: 

1. What’s due next?
2. What’s worth the most points?
3. What do I least want to do today?

To some students, due tomorrow means do tomorrow. This isn’t a long-term success strategy for obvious reasons. I want you to instead start thinking due next means do next.

What happens if you have multiple things due at or around the same time? In cases like this, let the percentage values tell you what to do first.

Let’s say you have a test worth 25% of your final class grade, and a quiz worth 2.5% of your final grade for another class both on the same day. Clearly both are important, but you should prioritize studying for your test. 

When you have other tasks on your to-do list that aren’t academic—chores, mailing a letter, sending an email, etc.—you obviously won’t have a syllabus to tell you what each task is worth. Just use your best judgement. ​

The last question to ask yourself is what do I least want to do right now? 

​Often the tasks we procrastinate the most on are the ones that have the highest reward.

Using the 3 questions you just answered, pick out the 3 most important items on your to-do list. Circle or highlight them, or re-write them on an index card. 

These 3 tasks make up your first triple threat set. Work on them one at a time until each one is completely finished.

Don’t move ahead to anything else before you have these all done!

For each task you complete in the first set, give yourself 3 points. 

Now it’s time for round 2. Go back through your to-do list, and pick out the next 3 most important tasks. Again, ask yourself what’s due next, what’s worth the most points, and what do I least want to do to pick them out.

Each task that you complete in round 2 is worth 2 points. 

Following round 2, you’ll repeat the same steps of selecting your top 3 tasks by asking yourself the 3 questions again for round 3. Round 3 tasks are worth 1 point each. 

As you read this, you might be wondering what’s next after round 3. Let me point out that making it through 3 rounds involves completing 9 items on your to-do list. This is no easy feat.

If you’re not used to prioritizing your list this way, you’ll be surprised by how long it’ll take you to finish just the 3 most important things you have to do on some days.

This being said, if you want to keep going and you have more time, feel free. After you complete your 3 rounds, every task you complete is worth .5 points. 

The Triple Threat Method is based on the fact that not everything on your to-do list is equally important. 

While most of us understand this at least intuitively, few of us approach our work this way. By following this system, you’ll ensure you’re focusing on the highest-yield tasks.

Another reason why this system works is that it prevents you from getting overwhelmed. Rather than worrying about doing everything, focus on just three high-value tasks at a time. 

The Triple Threat Method gives you an easy way to track how much you’re actually accomplishing on a daily basis. 

​Rather than trying to log the hours you’ve studied as a metric, your metric is simply the points you earn each day. If you earned nine points on Tuesday, try to earn at least 11 the next day. 

You can total your points up at the end of each week, and then try to beat your score the following week. This turns getting things done into a game in which you constantly compete with yourself to beat your records!

What's next? Don't forget to sign up for my free email course for more awesome ways to transform your productivity!