Here’s something that will likely change your day and grow your business if you stick to it long enough that it becomes a habit.
In short, the story goes like this. Charles Schwab was at one point the richest man in the world - were thinking 1918ish. He was the president of a steel corporation and this was the largest ship builder in America at the time. Thomas Edison referred to Schwab once as the “master hustler” as he was always getting the advantage over his competitors. On his endeavor to increase productivity he discovered a man named Ivy Lee.
Now, Lee was a successful business man in his own merit and a public relations genius for his time. As Lee was in Schwab’s office he told Schwab, “Give me 15 minutes with each of your top executives”. Schwab, financially savvy, asked what the price for this advice would be and Lee said “Nothing, 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 all of the execs he assigned a simple routine to create productivity:
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.
Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.
When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.
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.
Repeat this process every working day.
After three months Schwab called Lee back into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000 in 1918. That’s about $508,762 in 2022!
So, I have made this past of my morning ritual (ritual sounds wanted and kinder than a sluggish, “I must do” routine”). I have edited and changed mine just a little - I write my list out in the mornings instead of in the evenings. Evenings to me are simmer down, relax and visit times, not meant to work or be more productive than a super busy day. However, I know when I don’t make a list in the morning, my day is shot to shit and I have no direction whatsoever.
Making the list might seem elementary, but if what you were doing works, you probably wouldn’t have made it this far. It really is simple - it takes “Beginner’s Anxiety” out of the day because you prioritize exactly where you should be starting. It gives you a sense of accomplishment as you strike through and cross out line after line. It makes you single focused which you know is a pet peeve of mine - (Look, if you are multitasking 5 things at once, you are shorting each task you undivided attention and something is going to go wrong whether someone gets hurt, you leave our a critical detail or you miscount your drawer. Stop it with the multitasking!) In short, it helps you maintain the proper work life balance.
You might be asking, “why not load up my list with 20 things that I need to do and take them one by one like you said? “ WRONG MENTALITY HERE. You don’t need to overwhelm yourself anymore than you already have. I would say 6-10 things is the limit. Mr. Lee says 6 things. Why don’t you make two lists, one of everything and pick 6 for today, when you are done with those 6, reward yourself with something and then move on to the next 6. That’s a deal!
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Super helpful! Thanks for sharing!!