I hacked the greatest productivity hack of all time. Here is how.

He was well respected, successful, and already very wealthy. In fact, he was on his way to becoming the president of Bethlehem Steel, the largest steel manufacturer and shipbuilder in the US.

Charles was obsessed with productivity and talked about it, constantly. So, his mentor set up a time for him to meet with Ivy Lee an efficiency consultant.

Schwab agreed to take the meeting but was reluctant. He had built businesses, had a fantastic team in place, and felt he knew everything he needed to know. What could Mr. Lee teach him that he wasn’t already doing or had considered and tested?

So, when Ivy Lee walked into Charles office, Schwab, very matter-of-fact said ‘you have 15 minutes. I don’t see much value in consultants.’

Lee told him he only needed 15 minutes. Lee asked him to do the following.

1. Write down six things you need to accomplish tomorrow.

2. Prioritize them one through six, with one being the highest priority.

3. Start working on the first item on your list. Work on it till it is completed.

4. Move on to the second item on your list. Work on it till it is complete.

5. Do this for the rest of the list.

Schwab asked ‘what happens if, at the end of the day, I have only completed three of the six?’

Start this exercise over,’ Ivy said. ‘And move the three unfinished items on your list to the top three items for tomorrow and fill the list back in till you have six items for the following day.

Then, Ivy said something unexpected. ‘You don’t owe me anything today. Do this for three months, and send me a check for what you feel it is worth.

Three months later, Ivy Lee received a check from Schwab for $25,000. Approximately $500,000 in today’s dollars. Included was a note that read this system is the single best productivity system I have ever used. I have instructed all of my executive team to use it, too.

While this is a great productivity hack for non-reoccurring tasks, you can apply this same system to your habits.

But what if I have more than six work tasks and habits? Then prioritize your work tasks and cycle your habits.

My work and personal habits are as follows:

1. Stretch

2. Meditate

3. Run

4. Weights

5. Cold Plunge (yes, I do this. It is the worst and best habit I have.)

6. Content Creation

7. Social Media

8. Read

9. Intentional Practice

10. Business Development

As you can see, there are certainly more than six habits I want to accomplish each day.

In the words of Ray Dalio, “You can be anything you want to be. You can’t be everything.”

(Candidly, I struggle with this.)

So instead of thinking I need to complete each one of these habits each day or week, I apply the Ivy Lee method and cycle them.

So my week could look like the following. Assuming I complete all six tasks each day.

Monday

1. Work Priority

2. Work Priority

3. Work Priority

4. Stretch

5. Meditate

6. Run

Tuesday

1. Work Priority

2. Work Priority

3. Weights

4. Cold Plunge

5. Content Creation

6. Social Media

Wednesday (Maybe this was a big work day?!?)

1. Work Priority

2. Work Priority

3. Work Priority

4. Work Priority

5. Work Priority

6. Work Priority

Thursday

1. Work Priority

2. Read

3. Practice my Language

4. Business Development

5. Stretch (Habit’s cycle back over)

6. Meditate

Friday

1. Work Priority

2. Work Priority

3. Run

4. Weights

5. Cold Plunge

6. Content Creation

In prioritizing my work but cycling my habits, I account for the natural flow of my workload while still keeping up with my habits. The cycling of habits also ensures I do each of my habits at least once a week, moving forward in all areas instead of just a few.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this could work for you?

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