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Building with ImaginAction is a business development podcast exploring the systems, strategies, and technologies behind modern companies.
Hosted by GB and brought to you by Levonis.AI, each episode breaks down practical approaches to business growth, operational thinking, AI implementation, product development, automation, and execution — without the hype.
From building smarter workflows and scalable systems to refining offers, positioning, and decision-making, this podcast is designed for founders, operators, creators, and business owners who want actionable insights they can apply immediately.
No interviews. No noise. Just focused conversations on building better businesses in the age of AI.
Building with imaginAction is brought to you by Levonisstudio.com.
If you're running a business on your own, you don't need heavy corporate software or endless monthly add-ons. Levonis gives you an AI advisory team, a simple project tracker, and a daily action planner—all in one place for one flat price. Check it out over at Levonis.ai.
Now, onto today’s episode. I want to start today with a scenario I’ve been through many times... and I bet most of you have too.
You get up in the morning, fire in your belly, make your coffee, sit down at your desk, and get serious about planning what’s next. You open a notepad and write out a massive ten-plus item checklist.
For many managers, mapping out that backlog feels like progress. But long lists usually just create hassle and choice paralysis before any real work even begins. When everything gets marked as urgent, nothing moves.
Real progress isn't built by clearing a massive checklist. It’s built through ‘constraint’. To drive a project forward without overloading your brain, a better approach is to limit the number of daily actions you actively track to exactly three.
Now, where does this "Rule of Three" idea actually come from?
It traces back to J.D. Meier, a former Microsoft Program Manager who wrote a book called Getting Results the Agile Way. Meier developed a personal productivity system called Agile Results. His core model relies on setting three clear outcomes:
• Three outcomes for the day.
• Three outcomes for the week.
• Three outcomes for the month.
It’s a simple method because it forces clear prioritization. Pick three defining outcomes to establish parameters for what constitutes success today. If you complete those three tasks, the day is a complete win.
And this isn't just a daily planning idea—it aligns closely with human cognitive capacity. For decades, popular culture assumed people could comfortably track about seven items at a time in short-term memory. Modern cognitive science suggests a much tighter boundary. A landmark study by psychologist Dr. Nelson Cowan indicated that the human working memory ceiling maxes out at approximately four chunks of information at any given time.
When you try to manage an eight- or ten-item list, your brain operates at maximum capacity just trying not to drop the ball. By capping active daily tracking at three actions, you consciously leave a buffer slot free in working memory. That buffer slot helps prevent cognitive overload, keeps your thinking clear, and stops decision fatigue from stalling your afternoon output.
Some people will say, "But I’m great at multitasking!"
No, you are likely not. Multitasking often creates the illusion of being exceptionally busy, but the human brain isn't executing multiple complex tasks at the exact same time. Instead, it is rapidly jumping back and forth—a process scientists call task-switching.
Every single time your focus toggles from drafting a document to answering a message, and then back, your brain incurs a penalty known as switch cost. A study by psychologist Dr. Gloria Mark demonstrated that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain deep focus after a single distraction.
When you try to run five or six active priorities simultaneously, you aren't being more productive. You are simply fragmenting your attention and ensuring every item takes longer and suffers in quality. Capping daily actions to three isn't a limitation; it’s a defense against constant distraction.
We built this exact science directly into our platform at Levonis.ai with a tool called the Action Planner. It’s placed cleanly in the sidebar and lets you track up to three general actions on a minimalist calendar grid. We deliberately kept it simple. But if used consistently, it protects your mental focus.
Whether you use our workspace software or just an index card sitting next to your keyboard, the rule remains identical: scrap the endless checklist, select your three daily tasks, and finish them cleanly without jumping back and forth.
Thanks for listening to Building with imaginAction.
Check out LevonisStudio.com —An all-in-one business operating platform. Levonis Studio gives you a boardroom of specialist advisers, a functional marketing studio, straightforward project management, and daily action planning in one workspace. Check out LevonisStudio.com then I’ll see you in the next episode.