The Ivy Lee Method: How to Rank and Finish Six Tasks a Day

Quick answer

The Ivy Lee Method is a daily prioritization technique. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important tasks you need to do tomorrow, rank them by importance, then work them in that exact order — one at a time — until each is done. Anything unfinished moves to the top of the next day's list of six. It dates back to 1918, and people still recommend it because it's cheap to start, hard to overcomplicate, and it forces you to decide what matters before the day gets noisy.

Step-by-step

The five steps

1. End of day: write down the six most important tasks for tomorrow. Not everything on your mind — six.
2. Rank them in order of true importance, not urgency. The task you'd protect if the day went sideways goes first.
3. Start work the next morning on task one only. Don't open task two until task one is finished.
4. Work through the rest in order, the same way — one task, start to finish, then the next.
5. Carry over anything unfinished to tomorrow's list, and repeat.

The technique gets its name from consultant Ivy Lee, who pitched it to Bethlehem Steel president Charles Schwab in 1918 — free for three months, paid only if it worked. Schwab reportedly sent a check for $25,000 afterward, calling it the most valuable advice he'd ever gotten.

Why six tasks, ranked, works

The number six isn't magic — the constraint is. Capping the list forces you to prune anything that isn't essential instead of letting a to-do list balloon to twenty half-considered items. Because you rank the night before, you also remove the morning decision. You already know what you're doing first, so you can start instead of debating.

That pairs naturally with time blocking your day: once you have your six ranked tasks, put task one in the first open block on your calendar, not wherever it happens to fit.

Common problems and fixes

"I keep skipping to an easier task"

That's the method breaking down at the one step that matters most: working in order. If task one feels too big to start, it usually needs to be broken into a smaller next action, not skipped. Same instinct behind eat the frog — do the hardest, most important thing first, before your energy and willpower are spent on easier, lower-value work.

"My day gets hijacked before I touch the list"

Client work and founder schedules are less predictable than a steel mill floor. A freelancer or indie hacker's version of the method needs a little slack. Leave room for one "if nothing urgent comes up" item, and protect at least task one by scheduling it during your peak-focus hours, not whatever's left over. The real challenge isn't the concept, it's sticking to it when interruptions are constant.

"My list stops feeling trustworthy"

Tasks quietly pile up. Stale items linger. Before long the daily list feels like noise instead of a plan. Pairing the daily six-task habit with a short periodic review — clearing what's done, dropping what's no longer relevant — keeps the list something you actually trust enough to follow.

Doing this with Pomlo

The Ivy Lee Method gives you a ranked list. Pomlo helps you follow through on it. Start a focus session for task one before you open anything else, so the time you spend on your top priority is tracked separately from the rest of your day. Your weekly reports will show whether task one gets your best hours or just your first ten minutes. If a task belongs to a specific client or project, log it there from the start — ranked work turns into accurate, billable time instead of a guess at the end of the week.

Pomlo won't write your six tasks for you, and it won't rank them either — that part is still yours. What it does is make the list accountable: check whether task one really came first, and for how long. Pomlo is available on iOS, Android, and the web — download it to try it with tomorrow's list.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many tasks should be on an Ivy Lee list?

Six, ranked by true importance. The exact number matters less than the cap itself — limiting the list to six forces you to cut anything that isn't essential, which is the point of the method.

What do I do with tasks I don't finish?

Carry them to the top of tomorrow's list of six. If the same task keeps getting bumped for several days in a row, that's a sign to break it into a smaller next action or reconsider whether it belongs on the list at all.

Is the Ivy Lee Method the same as the Eisenhower Matrix or Eat the Frog?

No. The Eisenhower Matrix sorts tasks by urgency and importance into four quadrants. Eat the Frog just says do your hardest task first. The Ivy Lee Method is stricter than both: rank exactly six tasks the night before, then work them in that order, one at a time, without skipping ahead.

Does the Ivy Lee Method work for freelancers and indie hackers?

Yes, with one adjustment. Client work is less predictable than the factory-floor schedule it was designed for, so leave room for one flexible item among the six. The core value holds: it stops a freelancer's day from dissolving into inbox triage and keeps your best hours pointed at your most important task.

Conclusion

The Ivy Lee Method has stayed relevant for over a century because it's just a constraint and an order: six ranked tasks, decided the night before, worked one at a time. No app, no system, no willpower trick required — just the discipline to write the list and actually follow it. Try it tomorrow. Write your six tonight, rank them, and start a focus session for task one before you open anything else.