Get More Stuff Done… The Right Way To Make A To Do List

By Emette Massey

Hey, do you want to know a way of getting more stuff done, in record time? Want to increase the efficiency of your team? Want to learn the easiest way (I know of) to rid yourself of procrastination?

I was hoping so.

There’s no time like the present so let’s get crackin’.

For the record, I’m a natural born pro…

Procrastinator, that is. Yep, I’ll admit it. I’ll put things off quicker than a New York minute.

I searched high and low for a “system” to help keep me on track, make me more productive and just plain get things done in an easy fashion.

Luckily, I found the holy grail of “business productivity systems.” No mess. No fuss. No damn software to install. It was stupid simple and it works.

OK, just to keep things on the up side (and my Karma sparkly clean), I didn’t invent this little tactic, so I can’t take credit for it.

This technique was invented over 100 years ago. And it works like a charm.

The genius behind the technique was Ivy Lee happed to be an American publicity expert and founder of modern public relations.

Here’s the story.

It was 1918 and very wealthy Charles M. Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation asked Lee to “show me a way to get more things done.”

Lee responded, “Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives.”

Schwab asked, “How much will it cost me?”

“Nothing,” Lee said. “Unless it works. After three months, you can pay me whatever you feel it’s worth to you.”

Lee explained his simple method for getting more things done to each of Schwab’s executives.

The Ivy Lee Method

1. At the end of each workday, write down the six most important things you need to get done tomorrow. Don’t write down more than six tasks.
2. Prioritize those six items in order of the importance.
3. When you get to work tomorrow, begin working on the first task. Keep working on the first task until the task is finished before starting the second task.
4. Work the remainder of your list the same way. 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 each working day.

Yes, this is crazy simple. Schwab and his team gave it a try for three months.Did it work? Yes, it worked… extremely well.

In fact, it worked so well that Schwab called Lee into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000.

So, if you’re looking for a way to get more done, without complicating your life, why not give this a try in your business?