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Looks like my blogging this week is about productivity. I wanted to share something that set off a chain reaction in my own personal organization, the Ivy Lee method. It’s led to me rethinking a lot, which I will doubtlessly share in more, excruciating detail.
So I love all sorts of productivity methods, study them, integrate them, and so on. This is one I hadn’t heard of, probably as it’s A) Old, B) Common Sense, and C) Not insanely elaborate so you have to buy a ton of books from someone (not that guys like David Allen aren’t worth it).
Business Insider sums it up here.
Basically? Each night write down the five or six things you want to do the next day in order of importance. Never go above six.
You’ll recognize a lot here that I and others talk about. Focus. Force-ranking work. Limited scope.
I started using it to focus “in the small” as I already had plenty of Sprints, long-term plans, etc. It proved quite helpful, and made me rethink and expand a few of my other processes – which, again, you will probably hear about.
This is a good reminder of why you always want to study new ways to be productive, experiment, and revise how you work. There’s always something to find, and even the smallest things can open up enormous vistas.
Steven Savage