The Threefold Model for Evaluating Daily Work
Three types of work activity -- predefined, as-it-shows-up, and defining your work
The Threefold Model identifies the three distinct types of activity that fill any workday: (1) Doing predefined work -- executing tasks from your next action lists, calendar, and project plans; (2) Doing work as it shows up -- responding to unexpected inputs, interruptions, and ad hoc requests; and (3) Defining your work -- processing your in-basket, email, voicemail, and meeting notes to determine what new work needs to be done. Most people default to the second type, letting their days be consumed by whatever shows up, and neglecting the first and third types.
Allen's insight is that this imbalance isn't primarily caused by external demands -- it's caused by internal avoidance. When your in-basket is overflowing and your action lists are incomplete or nonexistent, dealing with whatever shows up is the path of least resistance. It feels productive (you're busy!) but is often a disguised form of procrastination. The antidote is rigorous commitment to the third type -- defining your work through regular processing -- which then enables confident, conscious choices between predefined work and work-as-it-shows-up.
The goal is not to eliminate interruptions or ad hoc work. Much of real work does show up in the moment and often becomes the genuine priority. The goal is to make the choice between predefined and ad hoc work a conscious one, based on complete information about all your commitments, rather than a default driven by avoidance or anxiety.
- You are always doing one of three types of work: predefined, as-it-shows-up, or defining your work. Awareness of which type you're in is the first step toward balance.
- Dealing with what shows up is not inherently wrong -- it's wrong only when it's a default driven by avoidance rather than a conscious choice driven by genuine priority.
- Defining your work (processing inputs) is the most neglected type of work activity, yet it is the foundation that makes the other two types manageable.
- You can tolerate surprise work if you know what you're not doing. You can't tolerate it if your alternatives are vague and unreviewed.
- Recognize which type of work you're doing right nowAt any moment, ask yourself: Am I executing a predefined action from my lists? Am I responding to something that just showed up? Or am I processing inputs to define what work needs to be done? Simply naming the activity creates awareness.
- Ensure 'defining your work' gets adequate timeDedicate time daily to processing your in-basket, email, voicemail, and meeting notes. This is the meta-work that converts raw inputs into actionable items on your lists. Without it, you have no reliable predefined work to choose over interruptions.Pro tipSchedule specific processing windows -- early morning, after lunch, end of day -- rather than trying to process continuously throughout the day.
- Make conscious choices between predefined work and as-it-shows-up workWhen something unexpected arises, consciously evaluate it against your predefined commitments. If you choose the ad hoc work, do so because it's genuinely the best use of your time right now, not because it's easier than facing your lists.Pro tipAsk yourself: 'Am I choosing this interruption because it's truly more important, or because my inbox is so chaotic that anything else feels better than processing it?'WarningIgnoring unprocessed inputs for too long causes items to surface as emergencies, creating more ad hoc fire-fighting. Regular processing prevents this escalation.
- Review and renegotiate regularlyThe constant sacrifices of not doing predefined work are tolerable only if you review and consciously renegotiate your commitments. Use the Weekly Review to catch up on anything that's been deferred, and make explicit decisions about what you're choosing not to do.
You've just ended an unexpected 30-minute phone call, have three pages of notes, a meeting starting in 30 minutes, six phone messages from your assistant, a strategic planning session in two days you haven't prepared for, and your boss wants your thoughts before a 3 PM meeting. You have the choice to (a) start working your phone messages (predefined/as-it-shows-up hybrid), (b) process the notes from the call to define next actions (defining your work), or (c) start preparing for the strategic session (predefined work).
While processing your in-basket, your assistant comes in with an urgent situation. You pause processing (the tray is still there, everything in one stack, ready to resume), handle the situation, then seamlessly resume processing. While on hold during a phone call, you review your action lists. When a conversation with your boss shrinks your available time to twelve minutes, you find a twelve-minute task from your lists.
Allen noticed that professionals consistently complained about interruptions preventing them from doing their 'real work.' But when he examined the situation more closely, he found that many of them couldn't clearly articulate what their 'real work' was -- they had no current, complete inventory of projects and actions. The interruptions weren't the problem; the lack of a clear, trusted alternative was. By naming the three types of work activity, Allen gave people a vocabulary for recognizing which type they were engaged in at any moment and making conscious choices about where to direct their energy.