The dark history behind the executive to-do list

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Key Takeaways

• There is a popular way of ranking a to-do list that ensures you are focused on only the six most important priorities in front of you.
• The "Ivy Lee Method" has been endorsed in the media multiple times, most recently by bestselling author James Clear.
• There's just one problem: The method was invented by a man on Adolf Hitler's payroll.

One of the most popular productivity hacks for ranking an executive to-do list originated from a man with a direct connection to Adolf Hitler. The connection comes from Ivy Lee, who created a method of prioritizing tasks so that you focus only on the six most important issues in front of you, every day, regardless of anything else.