Want a Simple Strategy for Maximum Productivity?

I want to share a simple, but effective strategy that can turn into a great daily routine. It’s the Ivy Lee Method.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

History
Method
Why it works

History

Here’s a bit of storytime. The method came about in 1918 when Charles M. Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation met up with productivity expert Ivy Lee, to discuss a way of improving the productivity of the workers in his company. Lee shared his method with Schwab for free and told him he could send him a check of a worthy amount if Schwab found the method useful. Three months later, after seeing how successful the method was, Schwab paid Lee a check of $25,000. Since then, the method has been working for 100 years.

Method

The method follows these simple steps:

At the end of the workday, write down the 6 most important tasks you need to get done the next day.
Prioritise these 6 tasks (don’t rush here).
The next day, work and focus only on the first task. Once that’s completed move on to the next task and so on.
At the end of the day, transfer any uncompleted tasks onto a new list of 6 tasks for the next day.
Repeat this process every workday.

Why it works

The strategy works because it reduces the mental effort and time put into writing the list and forces you to make the difficult decision of eliminating unnecessary items (trust me, you’ll feel proud). James Clear elaborates on this by stating that “It removes the friction of starting. The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them. (Getting off the couch can be tough, but once you actually start running it’s much easier to finish your workout.) Lee’s method forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work.” Many of us spend more time worrying about starting a task than doing it, but Ivy Lee’s method makes us want to dive into a task because we focus less on the size of a task than the number of tasks we have.

To sum up, Lee’s method shows that the simple act of doing what’s important can maintain your productivity in the long-term.