One of the bestproductivity methodscomes from an old age before personal computers and iPhones , when the close-fitting thing to a push notification was the interoffice mail system . Back in 1918 , public - relations pioneer Ivy Lee was hired by a major sword company to kick - embark on its office ’s efficiency . Lee ’s advice to the Bethlehem Steel Company ’s administrator still holds up today , as James Clear compose inFast Company , in part because it ’s just so wide-eyed .
Here are Lee ’s five steps to being more productive at work , concord to Clear :
1 . At the final stage of each work Clarence Day , write down the six most significant things you need to fulfil tomorrow . Do not publish down more than six job .
2 . prioritise those six items in order of their true importance .
3 . When you arrive at work tomorrow , focus only on the first task . Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task .
4 . come near the residue of your list in the same fashion . At the end of the day , move any bare items to a new list of six tasks for the following twenty-four hours .
5 . Repeat this process every wreak day .
That ’s it . Just publish down your most significant six project . You probably are n’t going to get much more than six major thing done in a day , so there ’s no use count your brain down with long - shot promise that you might finally get start on that project that ’s not due for another three calendar month .
Lee ’s advice was ab initio tailored toward executive director , but it works down the bodied run just as well . You may demand to pause your single - tasking when your Bos give you a last - minute business that needs to be completed ASAP , but basically , Lee is just encouraging you to prioritize and give your full attending to what ’s most urgent , rather than cluttering your to - do list with an intimidating washing list of things you know you wo n’t really get done .
There ’s plenty of research to back up his imperativeness on concentrating on one affair at a sentence , too . psychological science studieshave detect that trying to multitask is fairly counterproductive . People who sample to switch between tasks at a rapid clip make more errors and take more time than those who focus on getting one task done before moving on to the next .
Want to be even more of a virtuoso at work ? Try not just writing down your tasks , but assign them atime in your docket — it might even help you get home before .
[ h / tFast Company ]
Know of something you cogitate we should overlay ? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com .
