Is visual overwhelm the problem?

How do you plan your days?

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Are you a wing-it kinda person, or do you map out every hour?

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Me? ?Well, each night I write my ‘Big 3’ for the next day.

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(It’s the only section I use in my pricey productivity journal bought hoping to find an extra 12 hours in my day.

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Can you believe it hasn’t worked? ?I need my money back…)

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The Big 3 are the three big-ticket non-negotiables that I need to get done each day. ?

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And everything else is gravy, as they say.

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The Big 3 work for me because a list of just three things generally feels manageable. ?

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And if they feel manageable, I’m more likely to crack on and tick them off.

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But recently I’ve been recovering from COVID and have fallen a bit behind. ?

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So I started sneaking a few more items on my list. ?The Big 3 became the Big 4, then the Big 5.

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Not a big change, or so I thought.

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But the impact has been huge.

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Instead of getting on with the tasks as usual, I’ve procrastinated. ?Felt sorry for myself. ?Scrolled social media. ?A lot. ?

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And I realised merely looking at a list of five chunky items made my heart sink.

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So I cut back to just three again and, hey presto, I got my mojo back.

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Visual overwhelm can have a huge impact on how we experience things.

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And when we go beyond the ‘Rule of 3’ we can get into trouble.

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You probably already know The Rule of 3 states that things grouped in threes are easier to digest and remember:

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‘Veni. Vidi. Vici.’

‘Blood, sweat and tears’

‘Location, location, location’

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(The Romans even said ‘Omne trium perfectum’ – everything that comes in threes is perfect.)

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In an email or presentation, three bullet points instantly look more manageable, readable and doable to your reader.

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Four or five, though? ?Well, they start to feel like work – and no-one wants that.

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These days we often have just milliseconds to try to persuade people to do what we want: read something, action something, agree to something.?

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Avoiding visual overwhelm is crucial.

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So let’s stick with the Rule of 3 and three things max in a list.

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Looks better, works better.

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It’s a simple change, but a big result (my favourite kind of change). ?

I'm a marketing and brand consultant and communication coach. To get your business off that comfy old couch and out there winning business, visit kimarnold.co.uk or drop me a line at [email protected] .

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