The Ivy Lee method is simple: at the end of each workday, write down the six most important tasks for the next day, rank them by real importance, then commit to starting with the first one and not moving to the second until it’s done.
Key Takeaways
- The method’s value is in the five minutes at the end of the day, not the tool itself.
- Deciding tomorrow’s priority the night before removes a decision made under morning pressure.
- The hardest rule to keep isn’t writing the list, it’s not switching to an easier task when the first one gets hard.
- A day that ends with unread messages and an open list is normal; what matters is when the real priority gets decided.
- Staying with a stuck task, or ending the day still on it, protects the ranking more than jumping ahead does.
Why This Is Harder Than It Looks
In my years in a corporate technology role, workdays usually ended with twenty unanswered messages and a long task list. What changed how I worked wasn’t a new tool, it was a simple habit: five minutes at the end of the day to decide the real priority for tomorrow, instead of arriving in the morning and deciding under pressure.
The most important rule in this method is holding the order. The biggest temptation is switching to an easier task the moment you get stuck on the first one. Stay with it until it’s done, or until the day ends, then move it back to the top of tomorrow’s list, which is exactly the discipline Continuity, one of the five elements of The Method, is meant to protect.
The Steps
Step 1: Write the six most important tasks for tomorrow at the end of today, not in the morning. A decision made under morning pressure is rarely the same as one made with a clear head the night before.
Step 2: Rank the six by real importance, not by ease. Ranking by what’s easiest to do first defeats the purpose of the list entirely.
Step 3: Start with task one and hold it until it’s finished. Switching to task two the moment task one gets difficult is how the ranking collapses.
Step 4: Carry an unfinished task to the top of the next day’s list. An unfinished priority that gets buried lower each day usually never gets done.
A Worked Example
The days that actually produced something were the ones where task one stayed task one until it was finished, even when it took the whole morning, rather than the days where I jumped between all six tasks and finished none of them cleanly.
Closing
Tonight, before you close the day, write down tomorrow’s six tasks in order. Then hold that order tomorrow, especially when the first one gets hard.
FAQ
What if an urgent request comes in the next morning?
Genuine emergencies do override the list. The method protects against everything else that only feels urgent.
Is six tasks a strict number?
It’s a useful cap. More than six usually means the ranking hasn’t been done honestly yet.
What if I never finish task one?
Move it back to the top of tomorrow’s list rather than abandoning it. A recurring top task usually signals it needs to be broken into smaller steps.
