By 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the world.

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Schwab (oddly enough, no relation to Charles R. Schwab, founder of the Charles Schwab Corporation) was the president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in the U.S. at the time. The famous inventor Thomas Edison once referred to Schwab as the “master hustler.” He was constantly seeking an edge over the competition. Accounts differ as to the date, but according to historian Scott M. Cutlip, it was one day in 1918 that Schwab–in his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done–arranged a meeting with a highly respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee. Portrait of Ivy Ledbetter Lee from the early 1900s. [Photographer unknown, via JamesClear.com] Lee was a successful businessman in his own right and is widely remembered as a pioneer in the field of public relations. As the story goes, Schwab brought Lee into his office and said, “Show me a way to get more things done.” “Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives,” Lee replied. “How much will it cost me?” Schwab asked. “Nothing,” Lee said. “Unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it’s worth to you.”

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The Ivy Lee Method During his 15 minutes with each executive, Lee explained his simple method for achieving peak productivity: At the end of each workday, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day. Repeat this process every working day. The strategy sounded simple, but Schwab and his executive team at Bethlehem Steel gave it a try. After three months, Schwab was so delighted with the progress his company had made that he called Lee into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000. Complexity is often a weakness because it makes it harder to get back on track. A $25,000 check written in 1918 is the equivalent of a $400,000 check in 2015. The Ivy Lee Method of prioritizing your to-do list seems stupidly simple. How could something this simple be worth so much? What makes it so effective? On Managing Priorities Well Ivy Lee’s productivity method utilizes many of the concepts I have written about previously.

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James Clear writes about self-improvement tips based on proven scientific research at JamesClear.com, where this article first appeared. It is adapted with permission. Related Video: Productivity tips from the world’s busiest people