Now that you’re working from home do you suddenly find yourself struggling to be productive? What do you think is better for you? – Tackle the complexities of your day with an additional complex to-do system in place? or try to create a simple one? Let me help you with that.

The answer goes without saying: The simpler something can be done while still boosting your productivity, the better!

How To Use The Ivy Lee Method

There are two ways you can begin and end your day (this applies to your remote teams too). Let’s take a general look at what they could be:

Tomorrow Version A

You’re just waking up, and as your eyes flutter open you almost immediately think of all that needs to be done today. You mentally try to push it to the side until you’ve at least had a drink to wake you up.  If you have a family, then they’re also getting ready for the day and you help as needed, all the while thinking about work at the back of your mind. I understand. – you can’t help it. We’ve all been there!

You sit down ready to begin your day, and your first task is to look at your to-do list. There’s plenty that needs to be done today, but you’re not quite sure where to start. You want to ‘eat the frog’, but it seems there are a few important frogs that need addressing.

By the time you’ve sorted your task list, you’ve effectively used up about an hour of your morning – or more.

Throughout the day you work hard to get everything done, but every once in a while you catch a glimpse of your to-do list and try to get more done by working on things two at a time. That means you’ll accomplish more in less time, right?

Until finally, you’re done with work for the day. You close your laptop and heave a sigh of relief. As you reflect on the day, you realise you didn’t finish any one task, but you did make a little bit of progress on some of them, so hurray!

Tomorrow Version B

You’re waking up, and as your eyes flutter open you feel relaxed and take a big stretch, ready to tackle a new day. You’re not in a rush because you know you have the groundwork laid out for yourself. You get your fix for the morning, and do what ought to be done before you begin work.

You sit down to start, and see the task list you wrote yesterday. All you need do is scan the first item on your list and dive in.
You work on each task in the order listed, focusing on one at a time without giving the others a second thought. Once the task at hand is finished, you’ll get to the next one, and then the next one.

At last, your work day is over; and as you close your laptop, you feel a smirk of satisfaction form on your lips. You didn’t get everything on your list done, but you did get four whole things finished! You add your unfinished task to the next day’s list, and a few others that you know are important.

You leave your work spot in peace – fully confident you’ve accomplished your share for the day and ready to relax for the evening.

Boost Productivity To The Next Level

So now the main question is: Would you prefer to start and end your day more like Version A or Version B?

If we look at the ease of the day, Version B is by far more efficient.

The multitasking of Version A didn’t help us to fully address the tasks we wanted to accomplish, and we also lost a good chunk of time in the morning because we hadn’t yet figured out what we needed to achieve for that day.

Fact: Multitasking is really not as productive as it sounds.

So what do we need to do in order to have a work day more like Version B? Introducing: The Ivy Lee Method!

Ivy Lee Method Step-By-Step

Step 1: At the end of your work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish the next day (in no specific order). DO NOT list down more than six items.

Step 2: List those six tasks down in order of importance. You can merge Step 1 and 2 if your brain works better that way.

Step 3: When you start your work day focus on only the first task written down. Do not move to the next task until it is finished.

Step 4: Keep working through your list in this manner – concentrating fully on the ONE task at hand until it is done.

Step 5: Repeat this process daily.

The beauty of this method is that it gets you to hone in on a single task until it’s done. No multitasking, so you’re brain isn’t everywhere trying to think of all the things. It’s fixed on accomplishing one thing – and is less distracted.

Be Productive In All Areas of Life

The Ivy Lee method is applicable to more than just our professional lives; it can also help you tackle house chores or errands. It’s also a great habit to teach children if they have a lot going on with school, extracurricular activities, and more!

Using the Ivy Lee Method while remote working will help keep your day structured, but it’s also super simple to follow. Write your list on a piece of paper, keep it at your work station, and you’ll be good to go every morning!

Make this a habit – and I guarantee you’ll be more productive!