Time is running out so fast? So what can you do with it in an escape room challenge? Sometimes it isn't easy at all, especially if you can't even organize a workday. Here is a simple method to aid you in time management.

The birth of Ivy Lee Method

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 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.

“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.” 

During his 15 minutes with each executive, Lee explained his simple method for achieving peak productivity.

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. (That $25,000 now equivalent of $400,000.)

The Ivy Lee Method

The Ivy Lee Method involves the following five-step process and takes only 15 minutes every day:

Step 1: 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.

Step 2: Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.

Step 3: When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.

Step 4: 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.

Step 5: Repeat this process every working day.

It’s very simple: at the end of the day write down what you want to accomplish tomorrow. Literally couldn’t be easier because at the end of the day you may have the wisest clarity about which tasks are the most important next.

To be honest, in practice we’ve found you only need to write down 2-3 tasks (depending on the kind of work you do), which makes it even easier.

Why does it work?

First of all, it's simple. Simple enough to actually work.

It forces You to make decisions in only a few minutes. So You don't waste time with hesitating. 

It helps at starting. The first step is always the harder to take but it much easier, when You know where to go.

It requires You to single-task. Even is multi-tasking and being busy is overestimated today, the key to productivity is to focus on what You're actually doing.

Practice in escape rooms!

If You fed up with being busy all the time and fell hard to focus on a single task, then escape rooms ar highly recommended for You.

In an escape room, You'll practice making fast decisions, prioritizing your tasks and finding simple solutions. Give it a chance and You'll see Your efforts getting better at work as well!