Stop Repeating Yourself with the Rule of Three
It’s Monday. You organize your day, and you double-check your calendar. You go to your first 1:1. Your team member asks why the team is changing your product’s strategy. You share your thoughts. Now it’s Tuesday. You have a 1:1 with your designer who asks the same question. You share your thoughts. Now it’s Wednesday, you meet with your TL who asks about the changes in product strategy. Congrats! You’ve just hit the Rule of Three.
The Rule of Three states that anytime you repeat yourself three times, you should have written it down at the start. By documenting your thoughts rather than repeating yourself, you’re creating leverage in your time. You save yourself the time of reiterating the same information, and you save your team’s time from having to hear and respond to your answer in real-time. This allows for deeper, more meaningful conversations. If your team member can read, digest, and clarify your mental model asynchronously, the two of you can have a richer conversation when you meet in person.
When you hit the Rule of Three, write it down immediately! It’s tempting to think, “I’ve already explained this multiple times; no need to write it now.” However, if you’ve had three conversations, there’s a good chance a fourth and fifth are around the corner. Plus, providing a written reference allows the first three folks to reflect on your mental model at their own pace.
How to Implement the Rule of Three
- Take a Mental Tally: Take note when yourself repeating yourself. No need to be rigid here. When you’re in a 1:1, loosely, mentally note when you’re hearing a question a second or third time.
- Reflect Post-1:1s: After each 1:1, ask yourself if there’s anything you should have shared earlier and if anything should be communicated more broadly now.
- Proactive Documentation: Begin your Monday by scanning your calendar. Anticipate 1:1 topics and document your mental model in advance. While you won’t proactively catch all questions that will come up, the act of anticipating fosters empathy and preparation.
Practical Tips
- Choose Your Medium: Whether it’s an email, a document, or an internal wiki post, pick a medium that’s matches your team’s culture of communication and importance of the message you intend to share.
- Use Tools: Consider how your team expects to hear these updates. It could be an Asana message, a Slack message or an email. Again, match the means of communication to the team’s culture and the message.
- Be Concise and Clear: When writing, ensure clarity and conciseness. Bullet points, headings, and summaries can help make your message digestible. Add a tl;dr at the top if you find your message is longer than two paragraphs.
So, go ahead. Start your next week and start counting. See how quickly you get to three, and then write it down. Your future self and your team will thank you.