In 1918, Charles M. Schwab, one of the richest men in the world and president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, was looking for a way to increase the efficiency of his management team. To achieve this, he hired a productivity consultant named Ivy Lee.
Lee proposed an extremely simple method that required only 15 minutes a day. He told Schwab: "Try it for three months, and then send me a check for whatever you think it's worth." Three months later, Schwab sent him a check for $25,000 at the time (the equivalent of more than $400,000 today). This is the origin of the Ivy Lee Method.
What is the Ivy Lee Method?
The genius of this method lies in its extreme simplicity. In a world saturated with task apps and complex organization systems, Ivy Lee's rule stands out for its minimalism. It consists of 5 daily steps:
- At the end of each workday, write down the 6 most important tasks you need to accomplish tomorrow on a piece of paper. Do not write 5, nor 7; it must be exactly 6.
- Rank these 6 tasks in order of real importance, from number 1 to number 6.
- The next day, concentrate exclusively on the first task. Work on it until it is completely finished before moving on to the second.
- Approach the rest of the list in the same way. If you haven't finished everything by the end of the day, transfer the remaining tasks to the next day's list of 6.
- Repeat this process every working day.
Why Does It Work So Well?
Despite being more than a century old, the method remains one of the most effective weapons against beat procrastination for several psychological reasons:
1. Eliminates Decision Fatigue
When you start your workday asking yourself "what should I do now?", you are wasting valuable mental energy before you even begin. Ivy Lee eliminates this friction because the decisions were already made the night before.
2. Forces Hard Prioritization
Limiting your focus to just 6 tasks forces you to say "no" to distractions and focus on what really moves the needle in your work or studies.
3. Encourages Single-Tasking
Multitasking is a myth that reduces your productivity by up to 40%. This method requires you to work on one thing at a time until it's finished, protecting your state of deep focus.
How to Integrate the Ivy Lee Method with the Pomodoro Technique
The Ivy Lee Method and the Pomodoro technique Technique are the perfect marriage for daily productivity:
- Use the Ivy Lee Method to define what you are going to do.
- Use the Pomodoro Technique to define how you are going to do it.
Assign blocks of Pomodoros to your 6 listed tasks. For example, dedicate the first 3 Pomodoros of the day to solving task number 1. Do not open email or check your phone until those blocks end and the task is complete. You will see your efficiency multiply.
