Three-Criterion Life Filter
Filter commitments by money, service, and fun before accepting them.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 96%
Turn broad aspirations into a simple filter for incoming activities. Jordan uses three desired returns—make money, help people, and have fun—under the larger principle of designing a life rather than merely making a living. When an activity appears, test it against all three criteria. Work that satisfies at least one may deserve consideration; work that satisfies two has stronger strategic fit. If it satisfies none, decline it or, when the result is necessary, outsource it to someone better suited. The mechanism is explicit life outcomes → activity-level screening → selective acceptance or delegation → a schedule increasingly aligned with the desired life. The filter is deliberately simple, but it should not erase indirect value: learning, maintenance, family duties, and long-term investments may need to be translated into the outcomes they support before being rejected.
Origin
Jordan Paris adapts David Meltzer's mission of making money, helping people, and having fun into a practical filter for designing his daily life.
Core principles
- 01Designing a life is broader than making a living.
- 02Explicit criteria make opportunity costs visible.
- 03Strong activities often satisfy more than one priority.
- 04Work that does not fit can be declined or delegated.
How to run it
- 1
Define the returns
Choose three outcomes that describe the life you want your activities to create. Make them concrete enough to evaluate but broad enough to apply across opportunities.
Pro tip Use memorable language you can recall when a request arrives.
Watch out Borrowed criteria only work if they genuinely reflect your priorities.
- 2
Screen the activity
Ask which criteria the activity directly or indirectly advances. Note the evidence rather than letting excitement or obligation supply an automatic yes.
Pro tip Give extra weight to activities that satisfy two or three returns at once.
Watch out Account for long-term benefits that may not appear immediately.
- 3
Decline, do, or delegate
Do aligned work that needs your contribution, decline unaligned work, and outsource necessary tasks that someone else can own. Make the disposition explicit so weak-fit work does not linger by default.
Pro tip Delegate outcomes with clear standards rather than dumping vague chores.
Watch out Outsourcing does not remove accountability for the result.
- 4
Review the lived result
Periodically inspect whether the calendar actually produces the desired money, service, and enjoyment. Adjust the filter or your interpretation when the schedule passes on paper but fails in practice.
In the wild
Illustrative example: a creator receives a low-paid editing request that serves no audience they care about and offers no enjoyment. The output is necessary for another aligned project, so instead of personally accepting the work, they hire an editor with a clear brief.
→ The required output is completed without filling the creator's schedule with weak-fit work.
Common mistakes
Rejecting indirect value
Training, maintenance, and relationship work may support the criteria over time even when the immediate activity looks neutral.
Using fun as constant comfort
Meaningful work can be difficult in the moment while still contributing to a deeply enjoyable and well-designed life.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for independent professionals and creators who can choose, decline, or delegate a meaningful share of their work.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal as a rigid excuse to neglect unavoidable duties, long-term investments, or responsibilities whose value is indirect.
From the transcript
“don't make a living design a life”
“make a lot of money help a lot of people have a lot of fun”
“if a specific activity comes across my desk and it doesn't fit at least one of those three criteria if not two I either don't…”
From the episode
Jordan Paris: Just Do It
Jordan Paris