Want to see your productivity skyrocket? Limit your daily to-do list to the top 3 most important things you want to accomplish for the day. Do this same process at the beginning of every week for the week ahead. It’s that simple.

This habit turbocharges your productivity because it forces you to prioritize the most significant things you want to achieve, and then causes you to have a laser-like focus in getting them done.

Best-selling author and productivity guru Chris Bailey writes about this technique, referred to as “the Rule of 3”, in his book The Productivity Project. Bailey says that out of the thousands of productivity tactics he has experimented with, the Rule of 3 has emerged as one of the absolute best ways to positively impact your work and life on a daily basis.

As he says, “having just three items to focus on throughout the day and week will help you stay centered and accomplish more, even on days when everything hits the fan.”

In order to make this process work, it is essential that you write out these 3 main focus areas before cluttering your mind with “reactive” tasks such as checking email, voicemail, or social media. It is vital to prioritize what you want to achieve before being inundated with other peoples’ needs.

It’s also a good idea to reference your calendar for the day and week to see how much time you’ll have to devote to your top tasks and shift around your meetings and commitments in order to concentrate on what really matters.

As you think about putting the Rule of 3 into practice, it is recommended to start on a daily basis in order to quickly realize how effective it can be, and then add the weekly exercise from there. You want to make sure that your top 3 items are challenging yet also achievable in order to stay motivated and ride the momentum from getting them done.

After you list out your 3 top items to accomplish, it is okay to jot down additional minor tasks to take care of during the day (such as remembering to RSVP for a party, writing a thank you note, or going to the post office)

What’s important is that you prioritize and focus your energy on your top 3 items, and tackle smaller tasks as time permits from there. At the end of the day, you should be measuring your productivity based on how successful you were at accomplishing your main 3 things.

As Bailey says, “To accomplish more and spend time on your highest-impact tasks, you have to act on them on a daily basis.” The Rule of 3 is one of the best ways to do exactly that.

I hope this habit helps you do more by doing less.

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This article is contributed by Andrew Merle, Director – North America Brand & Consumer Marketing at New Balance. Andrew writes about living well, including good habits for happiness, health, productivity, and success. His writing can be followed at AndrewMerle.com and on Medium.