The Ivy Lee Method

EVERY EVENING BEFORE FINISHING WORK:

• Write down 3-5 things you must get done the next day
• Rank from highest to lowest priority
• In the morning start working on the task of highest priority
• Only move on to task #2 when you've completed #1 etc.
• Repeat

The bottom line? Do the most important thing first each day. It’s the only productivity trick you need.

To quote Greg McKeown, "If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will."

This 100 year old to-do list hack still?works.

The picture here is that of Ivy Lee. Back in 1918, Lee was tapped to help Charles M. Schwab increase the productivity of his workers.?

Accounts differ as to the date, but according to historian Scott M. Cutlip, it was one day in 1918 that Schwab—in his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done—arranged a meeting with a highly respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee.

Lee was a successful businessman in his own right and is widely remembered as a pioneer in the field of public relations. As the story goes, Schwab brought Lee into his office and said, "Show me a way to get more things done."

"Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives," Lee replied.

"How much will it cost me?" Schwab asked.

"Nothing," Lee said. "Unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it’s worth to you."

Lee developed a simple productivity system that accomplished that.

The Ivy Lee Method above.

The strategy sounded simple, but Schwab and his executive team at Bethlehem Steel gave it a try. After three months, Schwab was so delighted with the progress his company had made that he called Lee into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000. A $25,000 check written in 1918 is the equivalent of a $400,000 check in 2015.”

I’ve personally been using this method for a couple weeks now and love it. I've been using it as part of the Productivity Planner. The Productivity Planner is a notebook that gives you a template to reflect and plan each week. It also provides a daily template for your MIT’s (most important tasks - Ivy Lee Method) and to achieve them in 25 minute sprints called Pomodoro’s. Go order it now it will really help you get important stuff done.?https://www.intelligentchange.com/collections/all/products/the-productivity-planner?€35 incl postage or?Amazon.Co.Uk?for €38 plus postage.

Why does it work?

1. It’s simple enough to actually work.
2. It forces you to make tough decisions.
3. It removes the friction of starting.
4. It requires you to single-task.

‘Basically, if you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything.’

Barry Walsh:?Founder of the Power of Seven providing a personal advisory?board of peers for ambitious business owners . 17 years experience in helping business owners and their teams develop winning strategies for business growth. Barry’s facilitation style creates a space for shared learning that leads to learning and action.?www.po7.ie

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