Summary

The article discusses the productivity hack of prioritizing and completing important tasks, as advised by Ivy Lee to Charles M. Schwab, and how the author has adapted this method for personal use.

Abstract

The author of the article shares their personal journey with productivity, emphasizing the importance of starting each day with a clear focus on what's important. Drawing from the early 1900s advice of Ivy Lee to Charles M. Schwab, the author advocates for writing down and prioritizing 3-5 tasks the night before, then tackling them in order of importance the next day. This method, which the author unknowingly followed during their academic years, is credited with significant success for Bethlehem Steel and is described as simple yet effective. The author also reflects on their own adaptation of this method over time, incorporating insights from modern productivity experts and the concept of "flow" to enhance personal productivity. The article encourages readers to focus on single-tasking, engage deeply with their work, and understand that productivity is not a magic trick but the result of consistent, focused effort.

Opinions

The author believes in the power of a daily task list, which they refer to as My Daily List (MDL), to provide a sense of accomplishment and control.
They value the historical effectiveness of Ivy Lee's method, as evidenced by the success of Bethlehem Steel and Charles Schwab.
The author suggests that productivity is not about multitasking but about focusing on and completing the most critical task first.
They emphasize the importance of personal adaptation of productivity techniques, acknowledging that different methods work for different people.
The author promotes the idea of engaging with work to increase productivity, experiencing more "flow" states, and enjoying the process of task completion.
They introduce the concept of "ego-depletion" to explain the limited decision-making capacity of individuals, further supporting the need to prioritize tasks.
The author encourages readers to embrace their method of productivity to achieve goals and maintain focus on essential tasks, rather than spreading themselves too thin with non-essential activities

The Simplest Productivity Hack

Start with what’s important.

Lately, I’m obsessed with finding ways to increase productivity and getting stuff done. Because for far too long, I’ve been busy, but not productive.

Growing up, I was incredibly productive.

I started each day with a list, and if I didn’t get everything crossed off on the list — which was rare — I moved the undone task to next day’s agenda.

My daily list gave me a sense of accomplishment; it was the one thing — whether or not those tasks on my daily list got finished and crossed off — I alone had control over. Drawing a line through AND putting a check next to each line item after completion was satisfying and confidence-boosting.

I practiced My Daily List [MDL] all through middle school, high school, and college. MDL allowed me to focus, get straight A’s, complete two degrees simultaneously, while enjoying a social life, and gave me extra time to goof around at the end of the day because I made sure to accomplish the tasks on my list with purpose and a sense of incredible satisfaction and ease. Consistently.

Little did I know the origin of the daily list began in the early 1900s when Charles M. Schwab offered a reward to the person who found a way to increase the productivity of his staff at Bethlehem Steel.

Ivy Lee came along and gave Schwab this advice:

Every evening before finishing work:

Write down 3–5 things you plan to get done the next day
Rank them 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
Repeat

Within five years of receiving Lee’s recommendation, Bethlehem Steel went from an unknown, little steel company to the single biggest independent steel producer, making Charles Schwab one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Along with a $25,000 check (in today’s dollars that would be close to $295,432.49) Schwab sent Lee a note saying it was the most valuable piece of business advice he had ever received.

During my academic years, I had been unknowingly following Lee’s advice.

It is as effective as it is simple.

Getting back to productivity

We all slide. Some weeks — or years in my case — are more productive than others. And that is OK. Just get back on track.

I’ve adapted my MDL over the years to find what works best for me, and what kind of system increases my productivity and helps me reach my essential goals. I read blog posts and books about productivity hacks used by successful people like James Clear and Darien Foroux. Not only do I enjoy reading about productivity (I love reading about how successful people become successful), I also enjoy implementing their hacks into my life to figure out what works best for me.

We are all different, and therefore, we all work differently. Take what works and leave the rest.

Productivity

Productivity isn’t a magic trick. It is merely integrating a few simple, effective techniques like Ivy Lee gave Schwab and then implementing them.

What it looks like:

1) Do the most critical task first — How do you discern what is the most important task for you? I identify the most important task as the one I have been putting off the longest. I put that at the top of my list, and I don’t go to the next task until the task that is giving me the biggest headache — the one I want to put off — is complete. This works for me every time, and when I get the number one task out of the way first, the rest of my day goes smoothly. 2) Single-tasking — I used to be the queen of multitasking. For me now, multitasking means giving little attention to a lot of areas in my life, and none of them being done well — with purpose and meaning. Multitasking means you are not giving laser-focused attention to whatever task you are working on accomplishing. Just simply focus on the most important task of the day first, before you get distracted with emails and FaceBook notifications and texts and CNN news alerts and tweets. Stay focused.

Be more productive by doing less When you focus on one task at a time, you start putting minutes, that add up to hours, into what is important first — and saying no to the rest.

I’ve stopped multitasking.

I stay focused on the essentials instead of busying myself with the non-essentials. By focusing on only a few goals at a time and plotting them out daily on a daily list, you will have a higher success rate at bringing these goals to fruition. Giving a lot less energy to the rest.

Be engaged

It has been proven that when we are engaged with our work, productivity increases.

Since I have been writing, I have been more productive. Because I enjoy the act of writing, I experience more ‘flow’ states where I move through my process (each task on MDL) quickly, simply because I’m engaged with what I am doing.

There is a term called “ego-depletion” coined by behavioral economists, which means humans have a limited amount of decision-making ability in each day. Thus, focusing on your most important task first each day, and only that task, makes getting it off your list all the more probable.

Happy producing.

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Jessica is a writer, an online entrepreneur, and a recovering perfectionist. She lives in Los Angeles with her extrovert daughter, two dogs, and two cats.