PERSONAL SPECIAL This 100-Year-Old To-Do List Hack
Still Works Like A Charm
By 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the
world.
Schwab (oddly enough, no relation to Charles R. Schwab, founder of
the Charles Schwab Corporation) was the president of the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in
the U.S. at the time. The famous inventor Thomas Edison once referred to Schwab
as the "master hustler." He was constantly seeking an edge over the
competition.
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."
During his 15 minutes with each executive, Lee explained his
simple method for achieving peak productivity:
1.
At the end of each workday, 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.
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.
Complexity is often a weakness
because it makes it harder to get back on track.
A $25,000 check written in 1918 is the equivalent of a $400,000
check in 2015.
The Ivy Lee Method of prioritizing your to-do list seems stupidly
simple. How could something this simple be worth so much?
What makes it so effective?
Ivy Lee’s productivity method utilizes many of the concepts I have
written about previously.
Here’s what makes it so effective:
Basically, if you commit to
nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything.
It’s simple enough to actually
work.
The primary critique of methods
like this one is that they are too basic. They don’t account for all of the
complexities and nuances of life. What happens if an emergency pops up? What about
using the latest technology to our fullest advantage? In my experience,
complexity is often a weakness because it makes it harder to get back on track. Yes,
emergencies and unexpected distractions will arise. Ignore them as much as
possible, deal with them when you must, and get back to your prioritized to-do
list as soon as possible. Use simple rules to guide complex behavior.
It forces you to make tough
decisions.
I don’t believe there is anything
magical about Lee’s number of six important tasks per day. It could just as
easily be five tasks per day. However, I do think there is
something magical about imposing limits upon yourself. I find that the single
best thing to do when you have too many ideas (or when you’re overwhelmed by
everything you need to get done) is to prune your ideas and trim
away everything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Constraints can make you better. Lee’s
method is similar to Warren Buffet’s 25-5 Rule, which requires you to focus on
just five critical tasks and ignore everything else. Basically,if you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by
everything.
It removes the friction of
starting.
The biggest hurdle to finishing
most tasks is starting them. (Getting off the couch can be tough, but once you
actually start running, it is much easier to finish your workout.) Lee’s method
forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work. This
strategy has been incredibly useful for me: As a writer, I can waste three or
four hours debating what I should write about on a given day. If I decide the
night before, however, I can wake up and start writing immediately. It’s
simple, but it works. In the beginning, getting started is just as
important as succeeding at all.
It requires you to single-task.
Modern society loves multitasking.
The myth of multitasking is that being busy is
synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer
priorities leads to better work. Study world-class experts in nearly any
field—athletes, artists, scientists, teachers, CEOs—and you’ll discover one
characteristic that runs through all of them: focus. The reason is simple. You
can’t be great at one task if you’re constantly dividing your time 10 different
ways. Mastery requires focus and consistency.
The bottom line? Do the most
important thing first each day. It’s the only productivity
trick you need.
JAMES CLEAR
https://www.fastcompany.com/3062946/your-most-productive-self/this-100-year-old-to-do-list-hack-still-works-like-a-charm
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