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How to Use the Ivy Lee Method for Success

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By Kayla Matthews

In the modern world, people are very concerned about getting things done. Blame could go toward the state of the economy or the drive for more innovation, but the song remains the same: People want to be more productive to have something to show for their work. However, some are having a hard time doing it.

Bullet journals and other analog organizers are trendy, and there are plenty of productivity tips for professionals that you could follow.

But, truth be told, you don’t need something new to be productive. To-do lists are just about as old as time. Maybe you’ve tried these methods already and are still having trouble keeping up. Perhaps what you need is a 100-year-old technique worth over $400,000.

Who Is Ivy Lee?

Ivy Ledbetter Lee was a publicity expert and the founder of modern public relations in America during the early 1900s. Charles M. Schwab was the president of Bethlehem Steel Corp., the second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder in the United States during this era. In 1918, Schwab held a meeting with Lee to heighten productivity in his workplace.

Lee, offering his services for free, asked to meet with Schwab’s executives for 15 minutes each. During these meetings, Lee taught his method to all the executives and sent them back to work. After three months, Schwab asked for a second meeting with Lee, this time writing the other man a check for $25,000. Today, that amount is worth $420,000. That’s the price Schwab thought was appropriate for Lee’s advice to increase productivity.

What Is the Ivy Lee Method?

Lee’s method was actually incredibly simple, and most people easily overlook the basics. The secret is the psychology. The simplicity and ease-of-use in everyday life is just a bonus. Though there are other similar methods out there, this is the only one that goes to the root of the problem and removes distractions.

Here is the process as Lee taught it to Schwab’s executives.

  1. At the end of the day, write down six important things to do the following day. Never write down more than six. This means you don’t have to think about what to do that day and keeps the list small enough for you to tackle everything.
  2. Arrange the tasks in order of importance. List the most crucial task first.
  3. On the next day, start the first task immediately. Don’t go to another item until the first is completed. If an emergency or other things crop up, do them only if they absolutely must be finished before what’s on your list. Never stray from the list if it can be helped.
  4. Continue the list in the same manner. Any unfinished tasks at the end of the day get moved to the agenda for the next day. You’re not punishing or berating yourself for not getting everything done, which would be extremely unproductive.
  5. Repeat the process for every workday. At the end of the week, if you find you can’t complete all six tasks, shorten the list to five or four. Use whatever number works best for you.

The strategy sounds too simple to work, but Schwab evidently saw a lot of success and improvement after only a few months. The same could potentially be said for anyone, whether they’re looking to be more productive in running their own business or just a parent trying to be less overwhelmed during the day. Anyone can use the Lee method and see success.

Why the Method Works

There’s psychology at play here. We’ve been led to believe over the years that multitasking is the best way to be productive. In reality, it only leads to stress and distraction.

Focusing on a single task at a time results in more getting done in the long run without tripping over your own feet in a rush. If you’re skeptical, give the Ivy Lee Method a try for a week or two and see for yourself why Schwab thought it was worth so much.

 

 

About the Author: Kayla Matthews writes about communication and workplace productivity on her blog, Productivity Theory. Her work has also appeared on Talent Culture, MakeUseOf, The Muse and Fast Company.

Featured Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

5 Ways to Get to Success

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It’s the week after the official book launch for Anything You Put Your Mind To. For more than a year, Liz and I were working toward September 21, 2016. Toward the day we would get to share Alice, Larry and the dog with the world.

And . . . now we are here — with the published book in hand.

Since then, I’ve been reflecting on success. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve been learning and working toward over the last year. Below are 5 of the ways I’ve been using to get to success — not only for the book launch and GeniusShared — but in all areas of my life. Perhaps some of these ways will be helpful for you too.

1. Be Patient

No matter what you are trying to do in life or where you are trying to go — be patient. Getting to success takes patience. Not only with yourself — but with others too. Each of us express our thoughts differently. And we all come from different perspectives. Sometimes our definitions of success are different. From getting our laundry done to completing that big project at work — each of us have different ways of doing things. Be patient with yourself when you are trying to learn new ways, skills or strategies. Be patient with others when they are trying to understand you. And be patient with how you approach next steps and the execution of new ideas.

Understand that patience is an essential ingredient of success.

2. Learn and Keep Learning

Remember when you were a kid and you thought your parents knew everything. And then when you found out they didn’t. Guess what? There’s no one person that knows it all. Every single person has the opportunity to learn new things. It takes curiosity, an open mind and a desire to be better at something. Be open. And do everything you can to keep learning. Expose yourself to new ideas, to new people and to different opportunities.

Learning opens your horizons in a way that allows you to sail toward success more easily.

3. Change the Stories You Tell Yourself — Change Your Life

If you’ve read Anything Your Put Your Mind To — well then you’ll understand why this one matters so much. How many times do we tell ourselves we can’t do something? That we’re not good enough? Or that something is just not meant to be? Getting to success requires you to break out of your old ways of thinking, to take calculated risks and to execute on things that sometimes make you feel uncomfortable. This is okay.

Eliminate the stories that hold you back and you will find success in ways you previously thought impossible.

4. Surround Yourself With the Right People

I’ve written about this before — but it just can’t be said enough. Your success in life, at work and in everything you do is very dependant upon the people you have around you. Let go of the people who don’t believe in you, those who are constantly negative or who have values that are in conflict with yours. When you surround yourself with the right people they will become invested in seeing you succeed. And they will help you get to the places you seek. It takes trust, hard conversations and commitment — but it’s always worth it.

The right people won’t let you fail. They will help you on your journey toward success — however you have defined that success.

5. Know It’s a Marathon — Not a Sprint

Midway through the book launch a wise friend said to me — “Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.” And how right they were. Now that we’ve launched the book, I know the quest is not over — it’s just farther along. We have met a major goal but — there’s still more to do. More to create. More to understand. And that’s as it should be. It’s important to remember that success takes pacing. And — over time — the way you define success will likely evolve. As will your projects, plans and the people you meet along the way.

Commit to the long haul — the marathon. Spend your time and energy wisely as you seek your definition of success.

Remember . . .

There are many ways we each get to success. Find the ways that work best for you and actively practice them on a daily basis — in all areas of your life.

Put Your Mind To It

Spend some time thinking about just one of the ways listed in this article about getting to success. Choose just one thing to work on over the next week that will move you toward the success you seek in life.

Further Reading on Successful-Blog About Success

Define Success, Then You Can Find It

Why Successful People In Business Lean On Their Friends

Be sure to sign-up for the weekly GeniusShared newsletter.

What it takes to be successful in today’s business world

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By Teddy Hunt

Are you starting out on a new business endeavor and wondering what it takes to be successful? It’s a journey you must take with the understanding that it’s about more than just yourself or acquiring money. To be successful in today’s business world, read the following five tips and implement them today.

1. The Journey to Success

To complete the journey, you must be ready to take the long and uneasy road to success. As with any journey, you need to have a destination chosen. This destination can be to own your own company, to reach a particular net worth, or to expand to an international client base. This will be how you define your business success.

On this journey, you’ll need to do much more than just want it. You must work hard, think positive, read collaborative books, and study your mentors who are already where you want to be. It’s a mental and physical journey to take. Are you ready to walk the walk and talk the talk?

While you are on your journey, remember the old phrase, “you are the company you keep.” If you are surrounded by those who are negative, you can be sure there will be negativity along your journey. They will make a rough path seem impossible to cross.

So it’s important to keep positive influencers around you who are looking to take the journey to success as well.

2. Be Persistent and Consistent

Have you ever met a successful person who tried to promote a new product and then quickly decided to let it go? Probably not. The most successful people in today’s business world are extremely persistent and consistent. These are two positive habits that will keep the money rolling in, over long term.

3. Don’t Chase the Money

Sure, in the end, it’s great to have wealth. However, you should not chase the money to define your success. As a business owner, do focus on your sales, cash flow, and net profit. This will help you determine how well your business is doing. Evaluate your business success by how well you are meeting your customers’ needs, and the money will follow naturally.

4. Manage Your Money Wisely

Just because you have money coming in like crazy, does not mean you’ll keep it in your bank account. You need to manage your money wisely.

  • Join an investment club.
  • Set up an investment account.
  • Learn about the various types of securities.

Some of the most successful individuals realize everything is not handed to them on a silver platter. They must work hard for it, and in turn, they learn to appreciate their wealth.

They are frugal individuals– yes, this includes even Warren Buffett. So take baby steps with your money. Keep your old vehicle as long as it runs and keep a smaller home. Leverage your frugality so that you can reinvest in your business or new ventures down the road.

5. Create Value in Your Life and Others

You need to have something to offer people for them to pay attention to you. Others purchasing your products and services, of course, is the way you will become successful.

So, you need to create value in their lives for them to support you. In turn, you’ll provide value in your own life toward your success.

Money is not always the top priority in successful people’s lives; it’s making others happy and providing value.

Business Insider has a list of 23 successful people who failed and kept going. From Thomas Edison to Stephen King, they never gave up. In order for you to be the next successful person, remember the above five tips, and never let greed get in your way.

Author’s Bio: Teddy Hunt is a freelance content writer with a focus on technology, writing for clients such as Ria Money Transfer. When not behind a computer, Teddy spends the majority of his free time outdoors and resides in Tampa, Florida.

Avoiding Death by Cookie Cutter

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

Have you ever been doing one thing and found a correlation to another that sidetracks you? It happens to me all the time.

Cookie cutter man

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about doing what I love, it’s that sitting on my butt and working online for hours is all too easy. I’ve gone from running 5 to 7 miles a day to working 7 to 9 hours without ever getting out of my chair. It’s not good for me.

So two weeks ago, for the first time ever, I hired a personal trainer because I wanted some expertise and experience to help me avoid hurting myself while I got back in shape.

At our first meeting, I expected to be told how ‘the program’ worked and what I should be prepared for. Instead, we had an hour long conversation about what I wanted to achieve, any goals I was pursuing, how I ate and how much water I drank in a day. She was serious about food and water.

We talked about all the different nutritional plans out there – paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, raw, etc. Then she said, “I don’t want you to change how you eat, I do want you to keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat each day. Make a note on the days you feel great, get enough sleep and have a good workout, and make a note on the days where things aren’t feeling right for you. When you find the eating pattern that works best for you – stick with that. It’ll be the best Lisa Jenkins diet I can recommend.”

That’s where the correlation happened.

Most of us with online businesses look to others for support and inspiration to build stronger, more successful businesses. We seek out blogs like the one you’re reading now and conferences like SOBCon and Genius Shared to help us learn from people who’ve gone before us.

But that doesn’t mean we should blindly pattern our success on a cookie cutter version of theirs. We have to know what advice fits our needs and we need to know how to measure the effect of that advice against our unique goals. Here are a few simple ways to get started:

  • Create landing pages for each online campaign and track conversions using Google Analytics.
  • Collect email addresses instead of Likes, Follows and Connections and use them to segment customer markets for targeted campaigns you can track.
  • Use A/B testing.

Adapt the tactics of others, don’t copy their steps.

There’s nothing wrong with looking to others who’ve successfully built online businesses for inspiration and guidance to build your own business. It’s a smart move. Just make sure it IS your business you’re building and not a shadow of someone else’s.

Keep YOUR goals in mind. Track what works FOR YOU and what doesn’t. When you find what works best – stick with it. That’s the best strategy I can recommend.

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

Book review: Smartcuts by Shane Snow

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We all know people who seemed to have popped out of nowhere into a career, a gig, or an experience that they had no business doing.

How did they do it?

Smartcuts book cover

In Smartcuts, Shane Snow attempts to explain why and how some people figure out these “lateral jumps.”

The subtitle of the book is “How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success.”

It’s not accidental that it says “accelerate success,” rather than “achieve success.” If you picked up this book expecting a handbook on how to make your dreams come true, you’d be disappointed.

Snow chooses fast-paced stories to illustrate many different ways of “hacking” the system to make massive success happen faster. Typically, these methods make it look as though the person appeared out of nowhere, since they don’t come from an expected direction or path.

So if you’re already primed for success, how can you pour gasoline on your performance?

The author highlights 9 primary ways to accelerate success:

  • Hack the ladder
  • Train with a master
  • Get rapid feedback
  • Find a platform for your art
  • Watch and capitalize on patterns
  • Harness the power of a super-connector
  • Keep momentum going
  • Simplify your life
  • Dream big. 10X big.

Each concept is illustrated with fun, interwoven stories, making for a quick read. However, the ideas contained in the book will stick with you.

You know that old optical illusion image that looks like an urn, until they tell you that it contains two faces? This book gives you that same feeling, as you may have seen the “accelerators” at work before without recognizing them.

But the key takeaway is that you must be willing to challenge the conventional wisdom about how to become successful. Dare to say you want to go to Mars.

Have you read Smartcuts yet? Please share you thoughts in the comments!

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Who Are You to Do Something Like That?

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Who Are You to Do Something Like That?

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I leave Wednesday for Portland and SOBCon NW 2012. It’s our 10th event since the first. I’ve been thinking about that first event.

The week before the first SOBCon in 2007. I was filled with the excitement and doubts that come from taking on a huge endeavor such as I’d never taken on before.

It wasn’t like doing something for school or for the place where I worked. Doing things for them always had certain people who defined what we would do. Papers were written to the standards of the teachers. Reports and projects fit the expectation of the manager assigning them.

This was something we — our team — were doing ourselves for the people who would come.

Whose approval and applause was I looking for now? I was comfortable with what we had built and still, I had this doubt. It took a while for me to identify what was lingering there to hold me back.

It was the kids in my 3rd grade class saying something like “Who are you to do something like that?”

Why was a bunch of 8-year-olds from my past still getting real estate in my head?
Why should I care about their approval now? It didn’t make sense.

I’m the One Doing It!

Once I admitted a bunch of kids were the doubters I feared, I could let them know that I’d outgrown their shouting. They couldn’t knock me over with their disapproval now. I have more skills than I did when I knew them at 8 years old. Their power isn’t nearly so big now that I’m grown. So I moved those doubters and shouters out of my head. I’m not sure why they had power then.

I was afraid of childhood events. They doubters and shouters were barely memories at best.
So the next time I thought, “Who are you to do something like that?”
I said out loud, “I’m the one doing it!” and I got on with doing it.

Half the battle is knowing who are the doubters and shouters you’re letting undermine success.
The other half is telling them they don’t count.

Being big enough to tell the doubters and shouters to go doubt themselves is irresistible.

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss