Lists

Over the years I've tried all sorts of different ways of organising my “to-do" list. It's one of the most important tools that we use every day to get stuff done. And lets be honest, there's something really satisfying about looking at a to-do list with all of the items crossed out, heaven!

When I was a boy, my dad had his own business, and I was fascinated by his to-do list method. Even though he's retired, I still see him using it to this today for his daily tasks. Way back before laptops and mobiles, my old man had a lined notepad with a list of to-do’s that he wrote up early every morning at his desk. At the end of the day, all of the items that he hadn’t crossed out were carried over to the new page the next morning, to start all over again. He went through loads of these pads over the years and the habit stayed with him his whole working life.

Similarly I’ve always used a writing book for my to-do list, and I now keep three on the go at any one time. One is a lined A5 pad for staff related notes and mentoring clients, the next is an A4 plain paper pad for drawing my mind maps and ideas that I have (my favourite book) and finally a quality A4 lined pad for the daily notes and briefs etc, including a lot of my to do lists.

Now that the technology we have at our disposal keeps us all so well connected to our cloud of data, my main to-do list is now kept in the Apple App “reminders”. I love this app, as it integrates with my calendar and can trigger reminder alerts based on time, date and location in the form of push notifications which I find brilliant. This has lessened the need for me to make a hand written to-do list every day and helps me keep more accurate deadlines of my goals and objectives each week. However, I still can’t get out of the habit of writing them in my book, it gives me the chance to enjoy crossing things out :)

The debate about which is the best way to organise a busy “to-do” list is an old one, and I love the story from 1918, about Charles M. Schwab, who was one of the richest men in the world at the time. A notoriously creative businessman he would try all sorts of things to give his steel business the edge over the competition.

So, he hired a well known productivity consultant called Ivy Lee, to see if he could get more out of his executive staff. Lee, a very successful guy in his own right, offered to spend 15 minutes with each one of Schwab’s team and that the fee would be decided by Schwab after three months, based on what he thought it was worth!

Here’s what he told them to do:

• 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.

• Prioritise 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.

Sound familiar?

This made me smile when I first heard the story a few years ago, as it is very similar to the method my dad used for so many years. And guess what? It really works well!

Remember, the way we prioritise our time is one of THE most important systems in our working lives, but I have found that one system does not fit all people. The Ivy Lee method may be your cup of tea, but if not what is? Whatever your method ( Tips here ) the points that are important are:

Prioritise, always have a deadline and try not to add other people’s to-do's to your list, especially if you’re really busy!

So, how much did Schwab pay Lee for the method? Well, after three months, Schwab was so pleased with the progress his business had made that he paid $25k, which is $400k in today's money. In reality, generous as it was, that was only a fraction of the value of that particular to-do list method!