How to increase productivity

Have you heard of the Ivy Lee method of creating a "to-do" list that will not only work well, but will ensure your productivity is at its maximum? 

Don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either, until I came across it today. I was reading about how to be even more productive for my freelance writing business - I'd like to take one some new clients, so I'd like to juggle my time effectively. We all struggle with productivity sometimes, what, with the endless tasks we have to do on a daily basis, and sometimes your mind might feel like it has too many windows open in one browser, and you can't decide which task to do first, so you jump from one to the next?

​Read on to find out how to use the fool-proof and effective Ivy Lee 'to-do-list' method and increase your productivity and success: 

There is a story of how the Ivy Lee Method came to be, which you can read about below. 
But if you are after just the method then here goes:

THE IVY LEE METHOD
​Ivy Lee was hired by a man named Charles M. Schwab. Charles was looking for a way to increase the productivity of his staff. So a productivity consultant named Ivy Lee was hired, and Lee asked for just 15 minutes with each executive and explained his simple method for achieving peak productivity:

1. At the end of each workday, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks.
2. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.
3. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.
4. 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.
5. Repeat this process every working day.

This method is such a simple one, right? I'm going to try this everyday for two weeks to see if I can increase my own productivity. 

What I love about it, is that is tells you to focus on one task at a time, until you have completed this task in its entirety. Modern society loves multitasking. The myth of multitasking is that being busy is synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer priorities leads to better work. 

I'll write another post about how I got on with the Ivy Lee method in two weeks time. 

Have you used this method before? Share your best productivity practices below.