Create and Prioritize a Task List

One day, Ivy Lee a management consultant called on Charles M. Schwab of the Bethlehem Steel Company. In that meeting, Lee gave Schwab an idea to make his company more efficient and told him to try it for one month and when the month was over, Schwab was to send Lee a check for whatever he felt the idea was worth. Schwab had the know-how, he just needed more time in a day to get it all done.

At the end of the month, Ivy Lee received a check for $25,000, an enormous amount of money in the early 1900s. Charles Schwab said that it was the best idea he ever received. The idea:

1. Write down on a sheet of paper the six most important things you need to do tomorrow.

2. Prioritize the list and order them from most important to least important.

3. First thing tomorrow, look at the first item on the list and work on it until it is completed.

4. When the first item is finished, then move onto the second item and work on that item until it is completed, and so on.

5. At the end of the day, make another list for the next day, and do the same.

Don’t worry if you only finish two or three tasks in a day. You are finishing the most important tasks and not getting distracted by the insignificant ones. By doing this simple prioritization of your tasks, even if only mentally, you will be amazed at how much more you can get done.