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Try This 100-Year-Old Strategy For Reaching Peak productivity

The question of how to get things done is far from being a modern problem. It is a question that even Charles M. Schwab, then one of the richest men in the world, sought to answer in 1918. 

Intent on gaining an edge over the competition, he consulted productivity expert Ivy Lee. The confident Lee only asked for 15 minutes with Schwab’s executives and refused payment for his services unless his methods were proven effective. 

In just three months, Lee’s methods not only brought massive results but Schwab was so delighted by his company’s progress that he wrote Lee a check worth $400,000 (in today’s money). 

So, what was Lee’s method and what made it so effective? 

The Ivy Lee Method for Reaching Peak Productivity 

The Ivy Lee Method is so simple that anyone looking to boost their own productivity can apply this method immediately. 

Here’s how it goes. 

Step 1: At the end of your work day, write 6 tasks that you need to complete the following day. Don’t write more than 6 tasks. 

Step 2: List them down from most important to least important. 

Step 3: The following day, work on the first task on your list. Don’t move on to the next one unless you have completed the first. Work your way through the list using this approach. 

Step 4: If there are any tasks that you were not able to finish from today, move them to your new set of 6 tasks for the next day. 

Step 5: Repeat every day. 

Image via Pexels

Why the Ivy Lee Method Works 

  • It’s simple 

When it comes to adopting a system for productivity, less is usually more. Having an approach that gets down to the basics and eliminates the need for Plan Bs and Cs makes it much easier to remember and stick to.  

  • It forces you to prioritize 

One of the main things that stops us from getting to where we want to be is choice paralysis. There’s just too many things to do and be that they overwhelm us from taking action. 

Adopting the Ivy Lee method forces us to separate our needs from our wants and to set laser focus on things that actually to give us the most value.

Related: A Simple Way to Track your Habits: The Martin System

  • It sets you up for building a habit of success 

Perhaps the best thing about the Ivy Lee Method is that it helps you build a habit of success. 

By limiting your tasks each day, you eliminate the need for multitasking and instead can focus on completing one task at a time. Completing tasks is not just beneficial from a productivity perspective; it also boosts your self-confidence, an expedient trait that helps you succeed in all areas of life. 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle

Build good habits with TaskSpur 

If you’re looking to build a habit of success, use the right app! TaskSpur is a goal management tool designed to help you get things done. 

Here’s how you can integrate the Ivy Lee method via TaskSpur. 

Step 1: At the end of your work day, create 6 tasks to do tomorrow. These could be personal, work, health or finance related. Below s a sample list:

      • Reply to urgent emails
      • Write new blog article
      • Call mom
      • Discuss UX with Iyvan
      • Prepare new writing guidelines
      • Submit weekly report

Step 2: Add tomorrow’s date as the Start Date for each task 

Step 3: Label each task as either Low Priority, Medium Priority, or High Priority 

Step 4: And done! After you created these 6 tasks, you can find them under your Plan mode under Later. 

The following morning, Ari, your very own intelligent assistant, will send you a notification that your tasks are ready. All the tasks will now be listed under your Focus mode under To Do in order of priority. 

If there are a few outstanding tasks left at the end of your work day, they'll continue to appear in your Focus mode until they're done.  You just add enough new tasks to give you a total of six for each day. 

It takes less than 5 minutes a day to plan your day for success using your phone, tablet, or computer. 

TaskSpur offers a simple way to adopt the Ivy Method with ease. Try it now! 

 

Download TaskSpur on Android | Download TaskSpur on your iPhone 

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Originally published at https://cms.lifeintelligencegroup.com/blog. 

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