Three questions can turn noise into movement. They cut through panic, ego, and habit. Ask them in order, then act.
What is true
Start by separating data from story.
• Facts: what has been observed, recorded, signed, paid, shipped, or said on the record
• Unknowns: what you do not yet know and could learn
• Constraints: rules, resources, time, budget, non-negotiables
• Assumptions: beliefs you are treating as facts; mark these to test
• Signals: pieces of information that would change a decision if confirmed
• Feelings: valid, but not evidence; list them so they do not steer unseen
Quick verification pass
• Check the source document or system of record
• Ask the person who knows, not the person who guesses
• Run a small test or measurement you can do today
• Timebox the hunt for truth to ten minutes, then move
What matters
Not everything true is equally important. Filter by impact, control, and cost.
- Impact: size of consequence and length of shadow over time
- Control: how much you can influence now or soon
- Cost: time, money, attention, energy, and opportunity you give up
Simple priority stack
• Protect health and safety first
• Keep promises and relationships next
• Ship the next most valuable slice of work
• Learn fast where uncertainty is high but cheap to test
Write a one-line aim for this round
• Outcome: the smallest result that would count as progress by the end of today
• Deadline: a clear time to stop and review
What can I do next
Convert importance into movement.
• Define the next smallest step that changes reality
• Make an if-then plan: if X happens, then I do Y
• Block a short window, such as 25 minutes, and start
• Prepare a fallback you can do if blocked
• Set a checkpoint to review and choose the next step
Tiny template you can reuse
Outcome:
Next step:
Start time and length:
If blocked, do this instead:
Review at:
Worked example
• Situation: proposal due Friday; pricing not approved; client expects a draft today
• True: email commitment exists; pricing approval pending; unknown competitor pricing
• Matters: keep promise, protect margin, maintain trust
• Next: send a one-page outline to the client by 2 p.m., book a 15-minute pricing check at 3 p.m., prepare two price bands with notes on trade-offs, review at 4 p.m.
Rules of thumb
• No new data, no new thinking: act
• If a thought does not change what you will do or how you will accept, park it
• Replace what if with what now
• End with a verb, not a feeling
Use the three questions as a loop. Clarify what is true, choose what matters, take the next step. Repeat until the outcome is reached or the facts change.
