Ivy Lee Method
The Ivy Lee method is over 100 years old.
It’s simple. And it works.
In 1918, a well-known productivity expert, Ivy Lee, was hired by a steel company CEO to increase their output.
Lee was highly respected and got right to the point. He asked for just 15 minutes with each of the executives.
The CEO asked, “How much will this cost me?”
Lee replied, “Nothing. Unless it works. After 3 months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it’s worth to you.”
Then Lee sat down with the execs and explained this SIMPLE method.
Here’s the daily routine for maximum productivity:
- End of each day, write the 6 MOST important things for tomorrow. No more than 6 tasks.
- Prioritize them in order of importance.
- Following morning, focus ONLY on the first task. Work until 100% completed. Then move on to the second.
- Approach the rest of the day the same way. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of 6 tasks for tomorrow.
- Repeat daily.
So they tried it out. And just three months later…
Lee received a check for $25,000 from the CEO. (Equivalent to $440,000 in 2021 dollars.) Turns out it’s pretty darn useful.
The Ivy Lee method is now a famous productivity method. It’s effective and simple.
But you might be thinking, “Sure sounds great, until I get 50 emails and 10 urgent slack messages…”
Fair point.
I agree. So next I’ll show how I actually use it.
What It Really Looks Like…
In reality, I’m not focused enough to do only one thing until 100% completion — and then go on to the next one. Other stuff comes up and I get pulled in different directions.
But I can commit and focus on the TOP ONE. This is similar to one of my favorite books, The ONE Thing.
So at the end of each day, I make the list for the next day. I use top 5 instead of 6. Seems easier.
Plus, (and most importantly) decide what my ONE thing will be. And I (try to) make sure that gets done first.
Specifically, I make a note in Evernote with the date on the top. And I separate 3 sections:
- TOP 5
- Rest
- Weekend
TOP 5 = Most important things, in order.
Rest = Quick capture for the MANY other things that come up.
Weekend = Errands or personal projects. I don’t always wait until the weekend, but like to separate from the main work list.
The TOP 5 list in the first step is huge. It’s important to acknowledge the top priority. But if I REALLY want to ensure it happens… I block off time on the calendar. This makes it time-bound, aka ensures it actually happens.
So the process looks like this:
- What’s top 5?
- What’s top 1? Put it on the calendar.
- Do a bunch of other stuff.
- Repeat.
That’s it. Keep it simple. Even if you don’t hit the 5 things (or even the top one). The BEST part is… You get a brand new stab at it tomorrow. And the process continues.
It’s SO MUCH easier to stick to things (and get them done) when there’s a framework is in place.
PS. This post was inspired by James Clear’s post on similar topic. He explains here.
Awesome post! I use a similar system where I try to write down 3 to 5 most important things every day, and focus on getting that done. I also find long to-do lists to be very distracting. Do you use an app or paper to track your top 5 things?