In 1918, Charles Schwab—then one of America’s wealthiest industrialists—asked productivity consultant Ivy Lee for advice on improving executive performance. Lee’s proposal wasn’t a grand strategy session or a complicated system. It was a single sheet of paper with six lines and a deceptively simple rule:
Each evening, write down the six most important things you must accomplish tomorrow. Prioritize them. Start the next day with #1 and don’t move to #2 until #1 is finished. Anything left undone moves to tomorrow’s list.
That’s it. No dashboards, no color-coded software, no buzzwords.
The story goes that Schwab tested it for 90 days—and wrote Lee a check worth $400,000 in today’s dollars.
A century later, in an era obsessed with optimization, the Ivy Lee Method still wins. Because it solves the root problem: not time management, but decision management.
Why Simplicity Still Scales
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, revisited the method and made one point unmistakable: its genius lies in simplicity. Six tasks (or five, or four—it’s not the number that matters) force clarity. Limitation breeds focus.
Most executives lose productivity not because they’re lazy, but because they’re drowning in options. Slack pings, inbox chaos, and endless dashboards have turned “work” into a scavenger hunt for where focus went to die.
The Ivy Lee Method gives you a map:
- Decide what matters most before the day begins.
- Work on one thing until it’s done.
- Repeat.
AI doesn’t replace that clarity—it magnifies it.
The New Era: AI as the Co-Pilot of Focus
AI can’t make you care, but it can make your discipline effortless.
When paired with the Ivy Lee framework, it transforms a century-old method into a 21st-century operating system for leaders.
Here’s how to fuse Lee’s structure with today’s AI capability:
1. Use AI to Generate Your Six (and Remove the Guesswork).
Ask your AI assistant:
“Based on my goals, deadlines, and current pipeline, what six outcomes should I prioritize tomorrow?”
The machine does the sorting—you do the choosing. Decision fatigue disappears, replaced by strategic intent.
2. Let AI Enforce the Rule of Focus.
Distractions are inevitable. But AI-integrated systems can mute notifications, block irrelevant meetings, and remind you—politely but persistently—when you’re veering off your priority. It’s digital discipline without micromanagement.
3. Automate Reflection and Recovery.
The Ivy Lee Method ends with review. Traditionally, that meant pen and paper. Now, AI can summarize your day:
“You completed four of six tasks. Task #3 took twice as long as estimated. Suggest reprioritizing tomorrow’s list to focus on Task #5 first.”
Reflection becomes real-time learning, not afterthought.
4. Adapt in Chaos.
James Clear reminds us: interruptions happen. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s recovery. AI thrives here—it can reorder tasks dynamically when a meeting runs long or an urgent issue appears. The method bends but doesn’t break.
Why It Works: Constraint + Intelligence
The Ivy Lee Method’s psychological edge lies in constraint. By forcing yourself to pick a few priorities, you sidestep the illusion of progress created by endless checklists. Each completed task triggers momentum—what psychologists call “the progress principle.”
AI compounds this advantage. It observes patterns, learns your working rhythms, and highlights where your focus actually drives impact.
That turns daily discipline into data-driven self-awareness.
- Human judgment defines what matters.
- Machine intelligence ensures you act on it.
The result? Focus without friction.
From List to System
Think of the modern Ivy Lee system like this:
Evening Setup (5 minutes)
AI analyzes your calendar, communications, and objectives. It suggests the six most strategic tasks for tomorrow. You review, adjust, and commit.
Morning Execution (2 minutes)
You open your workspace to one thing—Task #1. AI suppresses noise until it’s done.
Midday Review (1 minute)
AI checks progress, reprioritizes if needed, and prompts for delegation.
Evening Reflection (2 minutes)
AI summarizes results, lessons, and trends, preparing the next day’s six.
Ten minutes total. The same mental payoff Ivy Lee promised in 1918—now compounded by machine precision.
What AI Doesn’t Change
The core of the Ivy Lee Method still stands untouched: constraint, clarity, completion. Technology adds leverage, but not meaning. AI won’t tell you why a task matters—it just helps ensure you actually finish it.
That’s the paradox of progress. The tools evolve; the truth doesn’t.
If you want more productivity, you don’t need more systems. You need fewer—but smarter—ones.
The 90-Day Challenge
Lee asked Schwab’s team to try his system for 90 days. That’s all.
So here’s your modern equivalent:
- Use an AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, whatever your choice) each night for 90 days.
- Generate, prioritize, and execute your six daily outcomes.
- Reflect every evening using AI prompts and pattern insights.
Watch what happens to your focus, decision quality, and throughput.
You’ll discover the same truth Schwab did: the method works because it respects your time as finite and your attention as sacred.
The 100-Year-Old System That Still Outperforms Your Apps
The Ivy Lee Method is not a relic—it’s a reminder. The future of productivity isn’t about doing more; it’s about thinking less about what to do next.
AI gives you back the mental space to lead, create, and decide. Pair it with Ivy Lee’s clarity, and you’ll build something far more powerful than a to-do list—
you’ll build a repeatable rhythm of success.
Simplicity met intelligence.
And together, they made focus scalable.
Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director @ Tip of the Spear
