Several years ago, I became a great fan of Napoleon Hill. I am such a fan that I begin my day with an email inspiration from the Napoleon Hill Society. I have adopted many ideas and principals from the writings of Napoleon Hill but none that have served me as well as how I approach my to-do list.
Napoleon Hill writes of Ivy Lee; Lee was doing some work for Charles Schwab the head of Bethlehem Steel. Schwab told Lee that the biggest problem he had was making his managers more effective – helping them to better utilize their time. Lee handed Schwab a blank sheet of paper and told him that with in a few minutes he could give him the solution. Schwab agreed to try the system out for a few weeks and then send Lee a check for what he thought the idea was worth.
Lee advised Schwab to have his managers, at the end of the day, to list their top six priorities for tomorrow. Then they should number 1 to 6 according to how important that task was. On the next day, take the tasks in the priority order, not proceeding until a task was completed. In a couple of weeks, Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000 as the value of the idea – and this was in the 1920’s.
I adopted this practice five years ago. It has changed the way I conduct my day. I never skip my most important task in favor of a task I find more enjoyable. I never waste time in the morning deciding what to do or where to start. I frequently reward myself for accomplishing all six items on my list early or I want to stay late to finish the list.
I implore you to try this system out for a few weeks. If it works for you, you are more than welcome to send me what you think it is worth 🙂 or you can just post a message here letting me know I have helped you find a solution. Either way, Prioritize your to-do, work from start to finish and soon your looming TO-DO’s will be your successful TA-DA’s!
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