Technique

The Ivy Lee Method

Six tasks, ranked by importance, done in order — nothing else

Overview

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes evening planning
Best For: Executives Decision-fatigued workers Minimalists Anyone overwhelmed by to-do lists

What Is It?

The Ivy Lee Method is one of the simplest productivity systems ever created. Each evening, you write down the six most important tasks for tomorrow. You rank them in order of priority. The next day, you start with task number one and don't move to task two until task one is complete. At the end of the day, move any unfinished tasks to a new list of six for the next day.

That's it. No apps, no complex frameworks, no categories. Just six tasks, ranked, done in order. The method's power comes from its ruthless simplicity: by limiting yourself to six tasks and forcing sequential execution, you eliminate the decision paralysis that plagues modern workers drowning in infinite to-do lists.

Origin

In 1918, Charles Schwab — then president of Bethlehem Steel, one of the largest companies in America — hired productivity consultant Ivy Lee to improve his executives' efficiency. Lee asked for just 15 minutes with each executive and proposed a simple experiment: try the method for three months. If it worked, Schwab could pay whatever he thought it was worth. Three months later, Schwab wrote Lee a check for $25,000 (equivalent to roughly $500,000 today), calling it the most profitable piece of business advice he'd ever received. The method has been used by executives and leaders for over a century because its simplicity makes it nearly impossible to fail at.

How to Do It

Write Down Six Tasks

At the end of each workday, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Not seven, not ten — six. If you can't identify six, write fewer. The constraint forces you to distinguish what truly matters from what merely feels busy.

Rank Them in Order of Importance

Order the six tasks from most important to least important. This is the critical step. You're making a commitment about what matters most before the chaos of the day can distort your judgment. The evening planning takes advantage of a clear mind.

Work Through Them in Order

The next day, start with task one. Work on it until it's complete before moving to task two. No skipping ahead to easier tasks. No multitasking. The sequential discipline prevents the common trap of doing easy items while avoiding hard ones.

Move Unfinished Tasks Forward

At the end of the day, move any incomplete tasks to a new list of six for tomorrow. Don't feel guilty — the method assumes you won't always finish all six. What matters is that you always worked on the most important items first.

The Science Behind Ivy Lee Method

The Ivy Lee Method works because it addresses three core challenges of personal productivity: prioritization, decision fatigue, and single-tasking.

By planning the evening before, you make prioritization decisions when your judgment is clear and the next day's pressures haven't yet clouded your thinking. Research on decision fatigue (Baumeister et al.) shows that the quality of our decisions deteriorates throughout the day as we make more choices. Morning decisions are particularly vulnerable when preceded by a night of poor planning.

The six-task limit leverages the constraints principle: creativity and productivity often thrive under limitations. When you can only choose six items, you're forced to ruthlessly prioritize. This prevents the overwhelm that comes from a 30-item to-do list where everything feels equally important.

The sequential execution rule eliminates multitasking, which research by the American Psychological Association has shown reduces productivity by up to 40%. By working on one task at a time in priority order, you ensure your best energy goes to your most important work — an elegant alignment of resources to priorities.

Benefits

Extraordinarily simple — no apps, no training, no complexity

Eliminates morning decision fatigue about what to work on

Forces daily prioritization that reveals what truly matters

Prevents the trap of doing easy tasks while avoiding important ones

Creates a natural daily planning habit through evening preparation

The six-task limit prevents overwhelm and makes days feel manageable

Limitations

Six tasks may feel too few for roles with many small obligations

Doesn't account for urgent interruptions that demand immediate attention

Sequential execution is difficult in collaborative or meeting-heavy environments

Provides no framework for breaking down large projects into daily tasks

Doesn't address time estimation

six tasks might take 4 hours or 12

Variations

Three-Task Version

For even more focus, limit to three tasks per day. Cal Newport advocates this approach, arguing that three meaningful accomplishments per day is excellent productivity.

1-3-5 Rule

Plan one big task, three medium tasks, and five small tasks each day. Provides more granularity while maintaining the constraint of a finite, prioritized list.

Ivy Lee + Time Blocking

Write your six tasks, rank them, then schedule each into specific time blocks on your calendar. Adds execution structure to the Ivy Lee prioritization framework.

Using Ivy Lee Method with BuckleTime

The Ivy Lee Method tells you what to work on; BuckleTime gives you the environment to actually do it. Each morning, take your top-ranked task, drop into a BuckleTime room, and declare it as your focus. The combination of Ivy Lee's prioritization clarity and BuckleTime's social accountability is remarkably effective.

Many BuckleTime users adapt the Ivy Lee Method by treating each focus session as one task from their list. Start a session, declare task one, work until it's done. Start another session, declare task two. The Focus Points earned for each session create a tangible record of progress through your daily list.

The evening planning ritual pairs well with BuckleTime's streak system. Make it a habit: review your BuckleTime stats for the day, note what you accomplished, then write tomorrow's six tasks. This reflection-and-planning loop, done consistently, compounds into dramatic productivity gains over weeks and months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I have more than six important tasks?

Then you need to make harder choices about what truly matters. The constraint is the point — if everything is important, nothing is. Choose six, do them well, and add remaining items to tomorrow's list. Tasks that keep getting bumped probably aren't as important as they feel.

What if task one takes all day?

Then you spend all day on your most important task, which is the best possible use of your time. If this happens regularly, break large tasks into smaller daily subtasks so each one is completable in a reasonable time frame.

Can I use this for personal life too?

Absolutely. Mix personal and professional tasks on the same list if they're all genuinely important. 'Schedule dentist appointment' can sit alongside 'finish quarterly report' — the method doesn't discriminate by category.

Why the evening instead of the morning?

Evening planning leverages a clear mind unaffected by the next day's pressures. It also reduces morning decision fatigue — you wake up knowing exactly what to do. Some people prefer morning planning, which works too, but evening is traditional and often more effective.

Is this method too simple for complex work?

Simplicity is its greatest strength, not a weakness. Complex project management needs tools like GTD or agile methods. But for daily execution — deciding what to work on and doing it — the Ivy Lee Method is hard to beat precisely because there's nothing to overthink.

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