In order to have an effective, rather than just a productive day I use the Ivy Lee Method.
Who or what is Ivy Lee I hear you ask? Ivy Lee was an American productivity consultant who was engaged by Charles Schwab (one of the richest men in the world in 1918) to show Schwab and his executives how to get more things done.
Lee offered to spend 15 minutes with each of the executives free of charge and after three months Schwab could send him a cheque for however much his advice was worth. The fact that Mr Schwab sent him a cheque for $28,000 (about $450,000 today) suggests that his advice is worthy of consideration.
It’s a simple five step system that I have been using for over a year now to great effect.
- At the end of each day write down the six (I do three) most important things you need to do tomorrow to move you toward your goal.
- Prioritise the items.
- In the morning concentrate on the first task and don’t move on until it is complete.
- Continue down the list.
- Repeat every working day
I choose three as it seems more manageable and definitely works well for me.
Good luck with Mr Lee’s method. It works for me. I hope it works for you but in order for it to do so it must become a habit.
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