The Ivy Lee Method:Boosting Productivity

Ivy Ledbetter Lee was a successful businessman in his own right and is widely remembered as a pioneer in the field of public relations.

Portrait of Ivy Ledbetter Lee from the early 1900s.

Lee explained his simple method for achieving peak productivity:

1. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks.

2. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.

3. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.

4. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.

5. Repeat this process every working day.

What makes it so effective?

It’s simple enough to actually work.

It forces you to make tough decisions.

It removes the friction of starting. The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them.

It requires you to single-task.

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