Definition: The Ivy Lee Method is a daily prioritization system. Each evening you write down the six most important tasks for tomorrow, rank them by true importance, and the next day you work the list top-down, finishing one task before you start the next.
It is one of the oldest productivity techniques still in daily use. Productivity consultant Ivy Lee introduced it in 1918, and its staying power comes from a single constraint: six tasks, in order, every day. That cap is the whole method. It forces a real decision about what matters instead of letting a daily task list grow without limit.
TL;DR: The Ivy Lee Method is a 100-year-old daily ritual: each night, pick the six most important tasks for tomorrow, rank them, and work top-down one at a time. The six-task cap is the point. It turns an endless to-do list into one ordered queue. Run it as a daily List in Taskade, and let an AI agent draft tomorrow's six from your open tasks.
How Does the Ivy Lee Method Work?
The Ivy Lee Method runs on a five-step loop you repeat every day. At the end of each workday, write the six most important tasks for tomorrow, rank them one through six by importance, then start work on task one the next morning and finish it before touching task two. Anything left over rolls to tomorrow's six.
You are already doing a version of this. Most people keep a mental shortlist of what tomorrow "has to" include. The Ivy Lee Method just writes that shortlist down, caps it at six, and forces the order, so the decision happens once, the night before, instead of fifty times during the day.
The Five Rules
- At the end of each workday, write down the six most important things to accomplish tomorrow. No more than six.
- Rank those six items in order of true importance.
- The next day, start on the first task. Work it until it is finished before moving on.
- Work through the list in order. Treat tasks two through six the same way.
- Whatever is unfinished at day's end moves to a fresh list of six for the following day. Repeat every working day.
Where Did the Ivy Lee Method Come From?
The story dates to 1918. Charles Schwab, head of Bethlehem Steel, is said to have asked productivity consultant Ivy Lee how to get more done. Lee offered to advise the executives for free and to be paid whatever the results were worth after three months. In the usual telling, Schwab sent a check for $25,000 (James Clear's account).
Treat the details as a well-worn anecdote. Clear notes that tracing the original sources was "unbelievably hard", and that many retellings misdate the meeting to 1905. The method does not depend on the story. It depends on the constraint: a short list, ranked, done in order.
Why the Ivy Lee Method Matters in 2026
The method matters in 2026 because your task list now fills itself. Email, chat, tickets, and calendar invites all create work you did not choose. A capped, ranked list is the simplest filter against that flood.
Attention research explains the pull toward a single queue. Gloria Mark of UC Irvine measured how long people stay on one screen before switching and reports an average near 47 seconds in recent years, with a median of 40 seconds (APA interview). That number tracks screen switching, not a hard limit on focus. Still, a list that says "finish task one before task two" pushes against exactly that habit.
Planning the night before has a research basis too. Masicampo and Baumeister (2011) found that unfinished goals intruded on unrelated tasks, and that making a specific plan for a goal removed the interference (study PDF). Writing tomorrow's six is that kind of plan.
Why Does the Ivy Lee Method Work?
The Ivy Lee Method works because it removes choice at the moment choice hurts most. The hard decision (what matters today) is made the night before, when you are calm and have perspective. The next morning there is no debate. You start at the top and go. That single ranked queue beats a long list because a long list invites you to cherry-pick the easy items and avoid the important one.
Three forces do the work:
- The cap fights overload. Six is small enough to finish and large enough to matter. A 20-item list signals chaos. A 6-item list signals a plan.
- Single-tasking beats switching. Finishing task one before starting task two cuts the context-switching that drains focus. This is the same instinct behind time blocking and the Pomodoro Technique: protect one thing at a time.
- Evening planning lowers next-day anxiety. Deciding tomorrow tonight closes the open loop, so you start the day knowing exactly what comes first.
Ivy Lee Method vs a Long To-Do List
A long to-do list records everything you could do. The Ivy Lee Method commits to the six you will do, in order. The difference is not length. It is the forced ranking and the single-task discipline. Below is how the two compare on the decisions that actually shape your day.
| Dimension | Long To-Do List | Ivy Lee Method |
|---|---|---|
| Item count | Unlimited, grows daily | Capped at 6 |
| Order | Flat, no priority | Ranked 1 to 6 by importance |
| When you decide | All day, repeatedly | Once, the evening before |
| What you do first | Whatever feels easy | Task #1, no debate |
| Multitasking | Encouraged by the long view | Blocked, one task at a time |
| Overflow | Items pile up unread | Rolls into tomorrow's six |
| Daily outcome | Busy, scattered | Important work finished first |
A long list is a useful inbox. Keep one. The Ivy Lee Method is the daily filter that pulls six items out of that inbox and turns them into a plan. Used together, the inbox holds everything and the six-task list decides what gets done.
How to Run the Ivy Lee Method on a Daily List
Picture one short list you rewrite every evening. The six tasks sit in order, top to bottom. Tomorrow you start at the top, check off task one, and keep going. Nothing else competes for the top slot.
TOMORROW: Ivy Lee Six (ranked)
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [ ] 1. Send the Q3 client proposal │ <- start here
│ [ ] 2. Finalize the hiring shortlist │
│ [ ] 3. Review and pay vendor invoices │
│ [ ] 4. Draft the team update │
│ [ ] 5. Book the venue for the offsite │
│ [ ] 6. Clear the support inbox │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
rank by importance · finish #1 before #2
unfinished items -> tomorrow's six
That mockup is a List view in Taskade. Each line is a task you check off. The order is the priority. Reordering by drag sets tomorrow's ranking in seconds, and tasks you assign to yourself flow into My Tasks so the day's six are always one click away.
Worked Example: One Week of Six-Task Lists
Suppose you run a small design studio. Monday evening you scan your open tasks and write tomorrow's six. Only four get done on Tuesday because a client call runs long.
| Tuesday list | Status Tuesday night | Wednesday's list |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Send revised logo options | Done | Removed |
| 2. Approve invoice batch | Done | Removed |
| 3. Finish proposal for new client | Done | Removed |
| 4. Reply to contractor question | Done | Removed |
| 5. Update portfolio page | Not done | Rank 1 |
| 6. Book photographer | Not done | Rank 2 |
Wednesday evening you add four new tasks and rank all six again. Notice that "Update portfolio page" moved to the top only because you re-ranked it. Rolling over is not automatic priority. If a task rolls over three times, split it or drop it.
Ivy Lee Method Template
Copy this into any list tool. The blanks are the whole method.
IVY LEE SIX for: ______ (date)
1. ______________________ (start here)
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
4. ______________________
5. ______________________
6. ______________________
Rule: finish 1 before 2. Unfinished items roll to tomorrow's list.
Common Ivy Lee Mistakes
Each mistake below breaks one of the five rules, and each has a short fix.
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Writing seven or more tasks | The cap stops forcing a decision | Cut to six before you rank |
| Skipping the ranking | You cherry-pick the easy task | Rank every item, even a rough rank |
| Planning in the morning | You lose the calm evening perspective | Plan at the end of the workday |
| Switching tasks when stuck | Task one never gets finished | Note the blocker, then take a short break |
| Vague tasks ("marketing") | You cannot tell when a task is done | Write a finish line for each |
Run the Ivy Lee Method With AI Agents in 2026
An AI agent can draft tomorrow's six from your open tasks, so your evening planning takes two minutes. The agent proposes a ranked list. You review it, reorder it, and approve it. This uses only what Taskade ships:
- Keep every open task in one project. Add due dates and a line on why each task matters.
- Give a Taskade AI Agent that project as knowledge. Agents read your projects and files (agent knowledge).
- Write the brief. For example: "At 5 pm, read the open tasks. Propose exactly six for tomorrow, ranked by importance. Put anything due tomorrow first. Give one line of reasoning per task."
- Schedule it. An automation with a schedule trigger can run the brief each evening and drop the list into a project you check.
- Review, then reorder. The agent cannot see your energy or the call you dreaded all week. You can.
For a team, give each person their own agent and project, and let each person review their own six. If you want one prompt to reach several agents, an AI Team can run in Auto, Everyone, Manual, or Orchestrate mode (multi-agent teams).
Related Methods and Concepts
The Ivy Lee Method pairs cleanly with other daily-priority systems. Each one solves a slightly different part of the same problem: deciding what to do first.
- Most Important Tasks (MITs): Pick two or three must-finish tasks per day. A lighter cousin of the Ivy Lee six.
- Eat the Frog: Do the hardest task first. This is the Ivy Lee Method's rule three taken to its logical end. For the deeper breakdown, see the Eisenhower Matrix guide.
- Eisenhower Matrix: Sort tasks by urgency and importance. Useful for choosing which six earn a spot on tomorrow's list.
- Getting Things Done (GTD): Capture everything, then decide. The Ivy Lee Method is the daily decision layer on top of a GTD-style inbox.
- Time Blocking: Assign each of the six tasks a slot on the calendar. Order plus time is a complete day plan.
- The 2-Minute Rule: Anything under two minutes, do now. Keeps trivial items off the precious six.
- Goal Setting: The six daily tasks should ladder up to a goal. Align them with SMART Goals so daily effort compounds.
- Pomodoro Technique: Work each task in focused intervals. The Pomodoro timer guide shows how to pace a single Ivy Lee task.
Do It in Taskade: A Daily Six-Task Tracker
You do not need an app to run the Ivy Lee Method. Paper works. But a paper list does not roll unfinished tasks forward, remind you, or live on every device. In Taskade Genesis, you describe what you want in plain English and get a working daily tracker built around the six-task ritual.
Type "build me a daily Ivy Lee tracker that holds six ranked tasks, rolls unfinished ones to tomorrow, and reminds me each evening to plan." Taskade Genesis builds it. You see a clean List of six checkable tasks in priority order. Each evening a reliable automation nudges you to write tomorrow's six, and unfinished items carry over on their own. It runs on your Workspace DNA, so the tracker remembers your patterns and the agents behind it can suggest which tasks deserve a top slot. One person logs in. One ordered list. The important work, done first.
That is Workspace DNA at daily scale: Memory holds your tasks, Intelligence drafts the six, and Execution delivers the list each evening. See Workspace DNA for the full loop.
Describe yours and build it free →
Frequently Asked Questions About the Ivy Lee Method
How do you implement the Ivy Lee Method?
At the end of each workday, write down the six most important tasks for tomorrow and rank them one through six by importance. The next day, start on task one and finish it before moving to task two. Work the list in order. Whatever is unfinished rolls into the next day's six.
Why only six tasks?
Six is the cap that makes the method work. It is small enough to finish in a day and large enough to cover what truly matters. A longer list invites cherry-picking the easy items and avoiding the important one. The limit forces a real decision about priority instead of recording everything.
What if I don't finish all six tasks?
Unfinished tasks are not a failure. They roll directly onto tomorrow's list of six. If the same task keeps rolling over, that is a signal: either it is too big and needs breaking down, or it is not as important as its ranking suggests and belongs lower or off the list.
Can the Ivy Lee Method be used for long-term goals?
The method is built for daily execution, not long-term planning. It works best as the daily layer under a goal system. Break a larger objective into daily tasks, then let each day's six include one task that moves the goal forward. Pair it with SMART Goals so daily effort compounds.
Is the Ivy Lee Method good for teams?
Yes, with one adjustment. Each person keeps their own six, and the team aligns on which tasks earn a top slot. A shared List in Taskade lets everyone see priorities at a glance while each member works their own ranked queue, so individual focus and team alignment hold together.
How is the Ivy Lee Method different from the Eisenhower Matrix?
The Eisenhower Matrix sorts tasks into four boxes by urgency and importance. The Ivy Lee Method ranks a single list of six and executes top-down. The Matrix helps you decide which tasks deserve a spot on tomorrow's six. The Ivy Lee Method tells you the order to do them in.
What Is the Ivy Lee Method Template?
The template is a list with six numbered lines, a date, and one rule: finish line one before line two. You can use paper, a note app, or a Taskade List view. The copyable version is in the template section above.
Who Was Ivy Lee?
Ivy Lee is widely remembered as a pioneer of public relations and worked as a consultant. The Bethlehem Steel story that gave the method its fame dates to 1918, but its details are anecdotal, so treat the $25,000 figure as folklore, not a documented fact.
Can AI Draft My Ivy Lee List?
Yes. An agent that reads your open tasks can propose six ranked items each evening, with a reason for each. You approve and reorder the list. The agent reads your notes and deadlines but does not know your energy or private priorities, so the ranking stays a human decision.
Is the Ivy Lee Method Better Than a To-Do App?
They solve different problems. A to-do app stores tasks. The Ivy Lee Method decides which six of them count tomorrow. Use both: the app holds the backlog and the method picks the day. Many people run the method inside the same app.