Making a list

[WeeOne]

I received this in a news letter email recently. Since some of you had talked about making lists, I thought you might find it interesting.
Lyn


Squeeze the Most Out of Your Day
From Stuck On Stop
by Vicki Hitzges

About one hundred years ago, a man named Ivy Lee went to the president of Bethlehem Steel, Charles Schwab, and made a deal with him. Lee told Schwab he could increase Schwab’s productivity as well as the workload of all his managers. What’s more, Lee told Schwab he could help Schwab’s executives produce a significant amount more if he could just spend fifteen minutes with each of them. To make the offer especially enticing, Lee told Schwab he wouldn’t charge anything at all unless his advice worked. “Then, after three months,” Lee told Schwab, “if my advice proves profitable, send me a check for whatever you think it’s worth.”

They struck a deal.

Here’s how productive he was—Lee actually spent only ten minutes with each executive. Here’s what he told them: “I want you to promise that for the next ninety days, before leaving your office at the end of each day, you’ll make a list of the six most important things you have to do the next day and number them in their order of importance.”
The executives were shocked that that was all they were asked to do.
“That’s it,” Lee said. “Scratch off each item after you finish it. Then go on to the next item on your list. If something doesn’t get done, put it on the following day’s list.”

Each Bethlehem executive agreed to follow Lee’s instructions. Three months later, Schwab studied the results. He was so pleased, he sent Lee a check for $35,000! (That may or may not seem like a lot of money to you, but this was one hundred years ago. At the time, the average United States worker made $2.00 a day or $4,000 a year. Thirty-five thousand dollars was a LOT of money! Even today, imagine if you spent a few minutes with a group of executives and gave each one the same, simple tip and got $35,000 for it. You’d be thrilled!)

Many people follow Lee’s advice today. The founder of the $2.2 billion direct sales cosmetics company Mary Kay praised Lee’s idea when she wrote the book You Can Have It All: Lifetime Wisdom from America’s Foremost Woman Entrepreneur. Mary Kay Ash boasted that she herself followed Lee’s advice. After all, she reasoned, Schwab was one of the smartest business professionals of his day. If he felt that bit of advice was worth paying $35,000, she ought to try it, too. So, each night she made a list of things to do the following day. But, she added a twist to it. She didn’t just number the tasks in order of importance. She always put the hardest or most unappealing task at the top. “This way,” she wrote, “I tackle the most difficult item first, and once it’s out of the way, I feel my day is off to a good start.”

Follow Lee’s advice! Before you go to sleep tonight, figure out what you need to do tomorrow. Write down the six most important things you need to accomplish. Not only will you start tomorrow ready to go, but subconsciously, you’ll also be working on those six projects while you sleep. Then, follow Mary Kay’s advice and knock those tasks out from hardest to easiest.

Don’t let your time get snuffed out by what appears to be an innocent killer! Stand guard. When you guard your time, you guard your life. For time is the stuff that life is made of.

[Irishgram]

What a great article and something to really, really think about...Well, not only think about but act on....
Thanks for posting, Lyn......

[Rachel57]

Awesome story, I am a list maker. I make lists all the time. I feel it helps me get more done. If I have a list, it feels like I should get it all done and if I don't have a list, I put things off for another day. LOL It feels good to cross something off the list. And when I get close to the bottom of the list or have skipped over something that I felt wasn't as important, when I am done, I go back through to see if I have enough time or energy to maybe complete another item on the list. LOL Guess I was smarter than I thought LOLLOL And to think I thought I was making my lists so I wouldn't forget half the stuff I had to do. LOLLOL (well, that is the real reason I make lists, I have too much to do all the time and forget half of it)
Thank you for sharing this interesting story. Rachel

[FarmChick]

Very good reason to make lists. I did lists at work, and I make them at Christmastime for all my projects. I do them when I'm cooking for a crowd, too. I also do them when I have several errands in town, and of course I do grocery lists and other shopping lists. Guess I should do them daily.

[patches4]

Thanks for the reminder. We are all list makers at one time or another. I really wish to sew, embroidery crochet and quilt but have this mentality that I must have everything in its place and sometimes that is out of my hands with a hubby who is working many jobs to keep us going and since we are watching our 5 year old grandson just him and his energy makes me tired.

Definitely will me making my daily lists to get the uglies down so I can do my fun things too.
Thanks for the post.
Tina
Patches4

[KATHYSQUILTS]

Lyn, What a wonderful idea, I think I can do that. Heaven knows I waste too much time.

kathy

[WeeOne]

A challenge....YES, Sonya.....I'm going to challenge myself and everyone here.

My Challenge to all of us: Make your list, as the article talked about, BUT at least every other day you HAVE to put a sewing/hobby/craft/reading/FUN item on your list. Even if it's only doing the item for an hour.

I have the problem of feeling like I have to get everything else 'stuff' done before I can do an enjoyable thing. And as you all know, the 'stuff' never gets done. So, I'm putting a 'Fun' thing on my list at least every other day.

Sonya - I edit for spelling all the time.

Lyn

[fabricgirl]

List are always a good Idea.

Lois

[maryq]

Okay... I'm in!

Lists! OMG.... I have lists for everything. For those of you who don't know me all that well... I am a huge freak for spiral notebooks. When ever they are on sale I snatch up a hand full or two--I just can't help myself. But it's hereditary... my Mom was the same way! And I have a collection of spiral notebooks from Colleges all around the US! Even some from Ireland! One year I was shopping with Jen in AZ... I grabbed a ton of notebooks at 10 for $1.00... she took them all out of my cart... but when she wasn't looking I put them back in!

One note book is a weekend TO DO list takes me about a year to fill one. Every week about Monday-Tuesday I start the list for the weekend ahead. Then check them off when they are done--such a good feeling. If I do something that isn't on the list... I add it quick so I can check it off! And some weekends...I can have a full list of "to-dos" and not do any of them... I'm easily distracted and if I walk into the sewing room... I'm done for!

One notebook is for House Projects: The painting, the fix ups, the yard work--mostly long term stuff. Big projects like replacing the ceilings and stripping wall paper--stuff like that.

Then I have a composition book--love those too.. with my Sewing Projects... One's I've started (those rarely checked off as done), the swaps I've done, the Lotto's I've won. The projects that come up--mostly baby tote bags and baby quilts.

Then of course, there's the on going grocery list... that's just a legal pad on the dining room table, so when I think of something for the next trip I add it as I go.

And I'm fussy... when the kids used to write things on my list in their terrible hand writing I'd have to write the whole list over again.. OCD maybe?

you see, I am definitely a list person!

[Becca]

LYN I have always been a list person.Never heard that story before.So simple but very effective.It makes you want to get it all done....Becca