Three MITs
Three Most Important Tasks daily
What are Three MITs (Most Important Tasks)?
Three MITs captures the three tasks that must happen today —a daily planning staple from productivity coaches and agile standups. It balances focus with realistic capacity better than an unlimited list.
How to Use
- Each morning, fill three slots with tasks you will commit to finish today.
- Order them by impact —tackle MIT #1 in your best energy window.
- Check each off when done; resist replacing finished MITs with new urgencies.
- Move unfinished MITs forward only during tomorrow's planning, not ad hoc.
How It Works
The MIT practice limits WIP (work in progress) to three items, aligning with Kanban principles and cognitive load research. Humans reliably overestimate daily capacity; three slots approximate what deep work plus admin actually allows. Naming three creates a finish line the brain can reach.
Why It Works for Productivity
MITs bridge vision and execution —more structured than One Thing, more focused than Today List's five items. They pair naturally with time blocking: assign each MIT a calendar home. Completion rate rises because the set is small and explicit.
Tips
Pull MITs from your Backlog or Eisenhower Matrix. At least one MIT should advance a long-term goal, not only firefighting. Review in Daily Standup notes each morning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why three and not five?
Three forces sharper prioritization; five works for lighter admin days via Today List instead.
Where is data stored?
Locally in your browser. MITs reset daily and are not uploaded.