Ivy Lee Quotes

I try to list the top three things to get done every day, and I'll be lucky if I hit all three, but it's amazing what that does to keep you on track.

Every day is sort of a jigsaw puzzle. You have to make sure that you're putting the most important things first.

You're actually making the rest of your day productive by spending 30 minutes reviewing your to-do's, prioritizing them, and ruthlessly removing things that shouldn't be there.

Also, I'm always learning better and better how to prioritize and how to leave certain things for the next day.

Time management is really key for me.

Don't worry if you don't complete everything on the schedule. At least you will have completed the most important projects before getting to the less important ones.

The secret to multitasking is that it isn't actually multitasking. It's just extreme focus and organization.

Each night before I go to bed, I take out a small card and write a list of the things I need to do the next day in order of their priority.

When I come into the office, the first thing I do is I plan out what I want to accomplish that day. I write it down in my notebook and make sure I accomplish it before I leave that day.

Probably the biggest problem I had was I didn't understand the importance of scheduling.

Do not spend the day in gathering flowers by the way side, lest night come upon you before you arrive at your journey's end, and then you will not reach it.

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.

Boundary setting is really a huge part of time management.

I learned that we can do anything, but we can't do everything... at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.

One always has time enough, if one will apply it well.

I write everything down. I e-mail the second I think of something, or I write notes in my BlackBerry calendar. I set up reminder alerts on my phone. And I have a notebook by my bedside so I can write down any last-minute ideas.

You can't master time, but you have to work your hardest to manage it.

I just know keeping track of what I'm doing and where I'm going is important to me.

First things first, second things never.

There is time enough for everything, in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.

As for my schedule, I tend to go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, and I try to be as productive as possible. Some days, I can devote to one specific thing. Other days, it's a catch-all day.

I always make lists of things I need to get done. I like the sense of having completed one thing so I can move on to the next.

Time management is really important.

I love to-do lists.