The $25,000 List for productivity!
Did you know Oct 30th is National Checklist Day? I am not sure about you but this is a day I can definitely get behind!
I love lists! I love a to-do list, a grocery list, a packing list, and honey-do list…
I live by lists! I want to share with you 3 lists that have been life savers, marriage savers and peace of mind savers with you but first a little history!
How about a little history of list making before I share my 3 favorite lists:
You might be surprised to learn that checklists came out of a need to keep pilots safe during WWII. According to Nationaltoday.com the first checklist resulted from a crash that injured several people, killing at least two on a Boeing Model 299 B-17 plane in 1935. The 299 was heralded as the most state-of-the-art aircraft at the time. During the post-crash investigation, Boeing discovered that the pilot had forgotten to do a simple task — turn off the elevator lock. This simple omission caused the aircraft not to respond to pitch control, leaving the plane vulnerable.
According to a report by two university professors in a 1990 study, cockpit checklists serve several key functions in aviation safety, “… to ensure that the crew will properly configure the airplane for any given segment of flight” and to create “…standardization in the cockpit.” Also, memory of the safety procedures can never take the place of the actual checklist in aviation.
So, if a checklist can keep us flying safely in the air, what better way to keep our lives organized and running smoothly on the ground?
What are my 3 favorite lists? Well actually not my fav -as that would be my packing for a vacation list…
But these are 3 lists that have helped me be more productive, have more peaceful home and more a more peaceful state of mind!
The 1st List is the 6 MITTDL! - something I learned from Mary Kay Ash who l heard about it from Charles M. Schwab who paid $25000 for the idea!
By 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the world. Schwab was the president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in America at the time. He was known as the “master hustler.” He was constantly seeking an edge over the competition.
One day in 1918, in his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done, Schwab arranged a meeting with a highly-respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee.
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.”
The Ivy Lee Method
During his 15 minutes with each executive, Ivy Lee explained his simple daily routine for achieving peak productivity:
At the end of each work day, 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.
A $25,000 check written in 1918 is the equivalent of a $400,000 check in 2015.
Click the link here to download your copy of the Ivy Lee Method to increase your productivity!
The Ivy Lee Method of prioritizing your to-do list seems stupidly simple. How could something this simple be worth so much?
I believe it works for 3 reasons -
It forces you to prioritize and limit your to-do to a 6 not 106! Therefore you need to look at what really needs to be done! And if you take Brian Tracy’s Eat the Frog concept you’ll start with the task you don’t really want to do 1st and just get it over with. Just make sure it’s a high priority task.
Reason it works - It’s simple! Just don’t think it’s so simple that it can’t work AND
It gives you a focus to get started quickly on your day - otherwise you might miss ⅓ the day wondering what you should be doing.
People often ask - what should I put on the list? Should they be personal or professional or should I have 6 for each of these ?
It depends on your energy and your family dynamics -there were days I had 6 for each personal and business.
Today I combine the two so my list usually includes 2-3 things I need to to in my business that will move me closer to my goals an 1-2 for my health (or whatever habit I might be working on) and 1-2 for my personal well being.
Also - have grace if you don’t finish the 6 everyday - I rarely do!!
As Ivy Lee said just move it to the next day… that being said, if you find you keep moving something to the next day, then the next day and so on, evaluate why - are you avoiding a needed task out of fear? (talk to your business coach if this is the case) Should it be delegated or can you just dump it?
2nd list that made my marriage better and cut down arguments - the Honey-do-together list! Early on in our marriage we’d get in spats because Tom felt like I always changed his agenda for a day off and I was mad because he never remembered to do the tasks I asked him to do -
Enter the “honey-do together ” list! We both agreed it was better to approach the week or day with a list of tasks that needed to be done, we would look at the tasks together and decide who was doing what.
And then went to work to tackle them - when the boys were at home we included them on the task lists. This helped us divide and conquer and cut down on the arguments tremendously! Everyone knew what their chore was AND they knew by looking at the list that everyone was doing something, it was just them working all do on 100 chores (a teenagers perspective). They still didn’t like having to do chores but it cut down on the stress level of this mom!
3rd list - the Dump List! I believe I talked about this back in Ep 4 “8 Discipline Hacks for the Undisciplined”.
But this is the list that helps me sleep better - I usually start it on Sunday but it will be ongoing throughout the week sometimes the month. I have a page in my planner where I right down EVERYTHING that needs to be done. Then as I plan my 6 MITTD daily lists I pull things from my dump list for that day.
It helps me sleep better as I don’t toss & turn all night thinking “I hope I remember to ….” and the “Oh Crap I forgot to do…” let’s be real at 54 year old that still happens but not as often as it would without the list! I even keep a notepad by my bed so if I do wake up in the middle of the night it goes on the notepad and then into my planner.
There you have it - my 3 fav lists!!
I’d love to know what lists do you make?
How do you use them in your life and/or which of these ideas will you start doing?
You can find the Uncharted Entrepreneurs Podcast Ep 26 wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!
I wanted to remind you that I have some really fabulous & extremely affordable promos going on to help you finish 2020 feeling great about your business, your life and your future!
Shoot me a DM on Instagram, facebook or email me sherimiterco@gmail.com for more information.
AND If you’ve never tried working with a coach before it’s like a hiring personal trainer to work out with vs just going to the gym. You invest a little more for a LOT More results in a shorter amount of time!
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Full Podcast TRANSCRIPTION:
Welcome to the Uncharted entrepreneurs podcast. If you're ready to tap into your God given strengths, discover simple success strategies and set that dream that's buried in your soul free. This podcast is for you. Hi, I'm your host Sheri, Miter. a visionary strategist, a highly driven entrepreneur and a lover of adventures. I'm here to help you navigate the sea of business and life and show you the true freedom of being an uncharted entrepreneur. If you're ready to tap into both courage and live the life you're called to create, join me on this journey. Let's untie those dock lines and set sail. We're going into uncharted territory. Hi, and welcome back to the Uncharted entrepreneurs podcast. I'm your host, Sheri Miter. And did you know October 30, is National Checklist day. Yes, who knew I don't even know who makes up these days. But I think they're pretty cool. And I don't know about you. But this is one I can definitely get behind. I love lists. I love a to do list. I love a grocery list. I love a packing list. And I love a honey do list. I live my life by list just ask my husband. And in today's podcast and celebration of national list day, because I am recording this on October 27 2020. I want to share with you three lists that have been true lifesavers for me, they've also been one of them.
Maybe a marriage saver, might be a little dramatic, but it definitely gave us more peace in our marriage. And another one that definitely definitely gives me more peace of mind and helps me sleep better at night. But before I jump into today's show and all about lists, I want to know have you heard that the Uncharted entrepreneurs podcast is almost at 1000 downloads. Oh my gosh, that's so crazy to me. Because it hasn't even been a full three months, I think we'll hit three months. Oh, actually, I think on the 29th this month, probably the day this is going live. But anyway, if you could do me a huge favor, one to celebrate and one to win some party favors because you know, I love to celebrate milestones in or snap a screenshot of today's episode. So as you're watching this, click your phone, snap a screenshot of it. If you don't know how to do that, ask a teenager near you. Snap that screenshot and share it on social media for me. And then tag somebody who is a list maker or maybe somebody who should be and be as well. You can do it on Instagram, you can do it on Facebook. And also let's start using the hash tag. I use it all the time. But I think it'd be so fun. If you as my you know, fans and listeners started using the hashtag Uncharted entrepreneurs. So go ahead, take a screenshot, upload it on your social media post tag somebody who needs or likes to make list. Use the hashtag Uncharted entrepreneurs. And you know what, when we hit 1000 downloads, which could possibly be by the day, this launches, you'll go into win some fun swag that I will be giving away. So anyway, thanks for helping me celebrate that. And thank you for being a listener and a fan of the show. All right, let's get into this. Now before I share my three favorite lists, I want to give you a little history of list making. I thought this was quite interesting. And if you're like me, you might be surprised to learn that checklist came out of a need to keep pilots safe during World War Two. And according to national today.com the first checklist resulted from a crash that injured several people killing at least two on a Boeing model 299 B 17 plane and 1935. The 299 was heralded as the most state of the art aircraft at the time. During the post crash investigation Boeing discovered that the pilot had forgotten to do a simple task turn off the elevator lock. This simple omission caused the aircraft not to respond to pitch control leaving the plane vulnerable. I don't know about you, but I've forgotten many of times. I have forgotten to do a simple task. Thank God it didn't result in a plane crash. Anyway continuing on with this according to a report by two university professors in a 1990 study. cockpit checklists serve several key functions in aviation safety to ensure the crew will probably configure the airplane for any given segment of flight and to create standardization in the cockpit, it goes on to say, also memory of the safety procedures can never take the place of the actual checklist in aviation. So there you have it, the history of list making. So if a checklist can keep us flying safely in the air, what better way to keep our lives organized and running smoothly on the ground? Right?
So there's your little history lesson for the day. And let's continue on, I want to share with you my three favorite list. Well, actually, I shouldn't call these my favorite list, because my favorite list is what I'm packing for vacation, and I have my to do list and my packing list. Those are my favorite lists to do. But these are three lists that have helped me be more productive. Again, they've helped me have more peace in my home, and definitely a more peaceful state of mind. Okay, the first list is the most important list of all, and this is the six most important things to do list.
Now, I learned about this from Mary Kay Ash, who heard about it from a story from Charles Schwab, who pay $25,000 for this idea. Now, lucky for you, you don't have to pay anything for the idea. I'm going to give it to you for free today. So if you haven't heard this idea, let me give you the back history on this. You're getting a full history lesson today, aren't you? Okay, so the history lesson behind this is in 1918, Charles Schwab was one of the richest men in the world. He was the president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest ship builder and the second largest steel producer in America at the time. He was known as the master hustler, I didn't know they had hustlers back then thought that was more of an earlier or a newer word we use today. Anyway, he was constantly seeking an edge over the competition one day in 1918. In his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done, Schwab arranged a meeting with a highly respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee. As the story goes, Schwab brought Lee into his office and said, Show me a way to get more things done. Lee replied, give me 15 minutes with each of your executives. And Schwab asked Of course, how much is this going to cost me? Lee replied nothing unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it's worth to you. So what did I really do? He set an appointment with 15 minutes for each executive. So what did I ideally do and what is now known as the ivy Lee method, Darren has 15 minutes with each executive, Ivy Lee explained his simple daily routine for achieving peak productivity. So, here is his list, his daily routine. What he said was at the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow, do not write down more than six tasks, he said, then prioritize those six items in order of their true importance. Then when you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task, work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task. Next thing you do is 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. And then he said 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 his progress his company had made that he called me into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000. That was 1918. So that check would be equivalent to over $400,000 today. So this is known as the ivy Lee method of prioritizing your to do list, which seems almost stupidly simple, but it works. So how could something this simple work? Well, these are my three reasons why I think this idea works. One, it forces you to prioritize and limit your to do list to six not 106 and let's be real, as especially a busy mom or a woman and even the guys out there if we sat down or wrote down everything we thought we had to do today, we would have so many things on our list, it would feel overwhelming. This keeps it simple. down to just six It also because you're limited to six, it helps you really prioritize what you really need to do. And also the idea that you, you prioritize those six in order of importance in order of what is going to move the needle closer to your goal. And if you take idealease idea, and then marry it to Brian Tracy's eat the frog concept where you work on the task, you don't want to do the task you've been avoided. You do that first, Oh, my gosh, you will be unstoppable. Just make sure that that number one task truly is the most high priority task. It's the one thing that if you did that, and nothing else, that day, you're still going to move closer to your business goals. Okay, the second reason why I think this works is it's simple. It's so simple. All you need is a pad of paper and a pen to do this.
But don't let the simplicity fool you. Sometimes the very simple things are the things that we don't do, because they seem too simple. But they are the things that will help us the most. The third reason why I think this idea works, is it gives you a focus, so that when you hit your office, or you sit down at your desk The next day, you can jump right into your day, because you know already what you need to start working on that morning. Otherwise, haven't there been days that you didn't have a list of to dues and you wasted half the day, wondering or thinking about what you should do? When you're working? This takes all of that away. So when you you can hit the ground running, and really just focus in on the most important tasks. So sometimes I have people ask me, Well, what goes on your list? or What should I put on that list? And do I do six for personal and six for professional? Or should I have six, you know, things that combine the two? And my answer to that is it really depends on your energy level, and your family dynamics. I'll be honest, when my boys were, you know, teenagers and in all sorts of events and tasks, and doctor appointments, and homework and all that stuff. I kind of felt like I had to have six lists. For each. I had six things on my to do list for my life, my personal life, and six things to do list for my business. I didn't always cross all six off of both. I don't think there was ever a day if I'm being honest that I ever crossed all six things off on both lists. But at least it helped me It gave me a focus. And it made sure I didn't forget things today where I don't have to worry about the kids and all of those things, the activities, I just had that one list. And what my list looks like today is I may have two or three things on there for my business, things that will move me closer to my goals. And then I have one or two things on there for perhaps my health. Or maybe it's something to do with money. Maybe it's like, Okay, I gotta balance the checkbooks today, or I've got to, you know, send out invoices, things like that, whatever. It might be something on a habit I'm working to create. And one or two things that are personal. So it might be grocery shopping, it might be today it was returning items to the store, things like that. So I combine personal and business on my list. But I always make sure I have at least two or three things in my business. Unless it today off then it's all personal. Because yes, I do still sometimes make a list on days off so that I feel like I got something more productive. But it's more fun things it might be take a walk, it might be go to the farmers market, those kind of things. Also, I do want to mention, just have grace for yourself. If you don't finish the six every day doesn't mention, I rarely do. And as Ivy Lee said the key there is then to move what you didn't get done today on to tomorrow's list. But I will add on there. If you find that there's something that just never seems to be getting done that's on your list and you keep moving it you know, it's on Mondays list, and then it goes on Tuesdays and then it's on Thursday, you know, on Thursdays and then Fridays and then back on you know the next week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you get the gist. I want you to just stop and kind of evaluate that task. And are you avoiding it for a reason. Maybe it's something you just are fearful to do. Maybe it's something you just don't want to do, but you know you need to do it. And if that's the case, maybe talk to your business. Coach about that talk to somebody about it, what is it that's holding you back from just checking off that thing on your to do list? Or look at it? And is it something that maybe you shouldn't even be doing, maybe it's something you need to delegate. Or maybe it's something that doesn't even really need to be done. And you can just dump it, just cross it off the list forever. So make sure you just kind of look at that if you keep finding that you're putting things off continuously. Okay, so that is the ivy Lee method, or as Mary Kay ash referred to it as the six most important things to do list. It's a life changer, I promise you if you work on that, that just that one type of list and you really master that it will change your business and it will change your life. Okay, the second list that I love, that really was the marriage saver. That might be a little dramatic, but it definitely cut down on the arguments.
And it was, it's the honey do and I'm going to call it the honey do together list because that's really what it was. And I don't know about you, for those of you that are married, or have a, you know, significant person that you live with. But we used to get in a lot of Spats before we started doing this, because let's say maybe it was going to be a Saturday and we both had the day off. Well, Tom would have things in his mind that he felt like were the priority for the day. And of course, I had things in my mind that I felt should be done that day. And sometimes they didn't really match up. And we would usually get in arguments and just be in this place of disagreement of what needed to be done that day. So what we started doing, and this, I don't remember, but I almost feel like this was maybe his idea. Because we had a conference, I remember having a conversation about it. And one of the things he said to me was that he would rather have a list and cross it off than to have me having to remind him to do something. Or having me, you know, nagging him as it appeared. And so it was easier for him. Plus, it also helped me because I didn't want to nag him about it. But I wanted it done. And I knew if it was on the list that he had in front of him, he would get to it. So that was part of the the original honey do list. But then when we started doing that I'm now calling the honey do together list was we would do write down all the things that needed to be done. Like around the house or errands that needed to be ran and all those kind of stuff, we'd write it all down on one sheet of paper. And then we would delegate Okay, I'm going to go do this, and he is going to do this. And when the boys were living at home, they were added to the list and we would all tackle the test together. So it was a divide and conquer. list. And let me tell you that cut down on the arguments between Tom and I and the kids tremendously. Because we all saw that on this long list of things that needed to be done. Everybody was pulling their weight, everybody was pitching in and one person wasn't doing more than the other. And I kinda remember that we even let the boys like, we rotate. Okay. You know, all right, this week, Jacob, you're gonna pick your your active, what are you going to do first, you know, you pick something off this list first. And then it was Jeremy's turn, and then Justin's turn. And then we would keep just picking things until everything was checked off the list. So they had input on what their task was. But that was such a great way to really again, run the house and just divide and conquer and all the stuff that needed to be done. Okay, and then my third list, and I talked about this one, I'm pretty sure on episode four. So way back when I first started Episode Four, it's my eight discipline hacks for the undisciplined and this is the dump list. And if you haven't heard me talk about this.
This is something that I usually start over the weekend, maybe a Saturday, Sunday, sometimes I don't get to it until Monday morning. But it's where you just take I do this in my planner, and I just write down every thing that needs to get done in my life. Anything I can think of, not necessarily it's going to get done that week, that month, but it's just everything that's in my brain that I'm thinking oh, I gotta make sure I remember to do this or I got to do this. It can be personal, it could be business, it could be anything like, I mean, truly anything that's going on in my brain, I put it on paper. And I do it in my planner, so I know exactly where it is. And what happens when I do this is I sleep better, because Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night with that Panic of like, Oh crap, I forgot to do. Or, or maybe it's the like, oh, gosh, I got to make sure I remember to. And I actually even started leaving a pad of paper next to my bed side. Because I don't know, sometimes I have my planner right there. Like, a lot of times I just keep my planner right by my bed at night like because I'm doing my six most important things to do list at night before I go to bed. So sometimes my planner sitting right there, I can just throw it on my dump list. But even if I don't have a pad of paper, and I'll just jot it down on the pad of paper, whatever it is that I need to do or remember to do, and then it goes on the dump list. So however you want to do that, but just everything that's in your brain goes on the dump list, then you're not waking up in the middle of the night with those panic attacks of like, Oh crap,
you know, the, like I was just talking about, so you will sleep better. Then the key is you take what's on your dump list. And that's where you pull from when you're creating your six most important things to do list. So you're scratching things off your dump list, plugging it onto your six most important things to do list. Or even if you like to plan further out, sometimes I'll plug things in. later in the week, I'll put it on the weekly calendar that I don't know, making my podcasts that I know I've got to do that on. I've got to record that on Tuesday. So if it's on my dump list, I may go ahead and just plug it into my calendar on Tuesday, then it's already starting to populate my six most important things to do list for that day. I hope that makes sense. So there you have it, those are my three favorite list that have really helped me be more productive. They've helped me like I said, sleep better, they gave me more peace in my home, especially when I had teenagers. And they just give me overall more sanity and peace of mind. And if you have any questions on any of these, I know it's hard when you don't see the visual of them. And I wanted to have my act together. But it wasn't on my to do list to create a beautiful to do list for you. But it didn't get done. So use the scratchpad. Use your planner, whatever works for you. It can go on your phone if you're a tech person. Personally, I love the act of scratching things off with a pen and paper. There's just something about that there's actually been times I've added things to my to do list just so I could scratch it off things I already did. I go back in and write it down so I could scratch it off. I'm crazy, right? But I would also love to to know from you, what lists do you make? How have lists helped you be more productive. So share your ideas with me hit me up in Instagram or Facebook in a DM or if you have any questions about any of these ideas I shared today or you just want to share with me how they've helped you. Shoot me that dm, email me Sherry Miter ko@gmail.com I would love to hear from you. And last thing is one more reminder. And it is not the last reminder, you're going to hear about this for a long time.
One, don't forget to share the post share this podcast with all your friends so we can get to that thousand downloads. And the second thing is, I want to make sure you know about the fabulous and extremely affordable promos that I have going on to help you finish 2020 feeling great about your business, your life, your future. I have some really great three great packages right now that I'm so excited about. They are limited to about 10 people to plug into the different packages. But if you're interested in just learning some more no obligation, I can shoot you an email with all the info on it to see if any of the packages are right for you right now with your life. So shoot me a DM on Instagram or Facebook or email me like I said and I'll be happy to send that information over to you or if you know of somebody who's just looking to uplevel their life. And I wasn't a conversation recently because with some other coaching friends and then another friend of mine just reminded me of this that a lot of times people like why do I even need a coach? Why do I need a coach for my business? Why do I need a coach for my life and this friend reminded me That hiring a coach and having a coach to help you in business and life is kind of like having that personal trainer versus a gym membership. With a personal trainer. Yes, you are going to invest more, but you will get way better results. You'll have somebody that holds you accountable. You'll have somebody that designs a plan specifically for you, versus hoping that you just show up to the gym to do your workouts. So think about that when you're thinking about whether or not you need to hire a coach. It's just like having the personal trainer versus a gym membership. Yes, you will invest a little more, but you will get a lot more results in a shorter amount of time. So anyway, thanks again as always for listening to the Uncharted entrepreneurs podcast I can't wait to hear how these lists help change your life like they've helped change mine and or what list you already do. So Happy National list day on October 30. Hey Friends real quick before you go if you found value in today's episode, can you do me a huge favor, hit that subscribe button and leave a review. And then let's connect on Instagram. Just look for Sherry Miter Feel free to DM me and let me know what you enjoyed most about today's show. And last but probably the most important, head over to my website Uncharted entrepreneurs.com to schedule your FREE discovery call. Or if you know you need a business coach to help you work on some new strategies to scale your business. Then I'd invite you to grab a vision strategy session in 90 minutes. You'll have a clear vision and action steps to get you headed in the right direction mentioned this podcast receive a discount on your first session.
