How to Use the Ivy Lee Method in Microsoft To Do

It’s common to look at your to-do list and wonder where to begin. With so much on there, choosing a starting point each morning can be challenging—not to mention stressful.

Using the Ivy Lee method to plan your to-dos, you’ll know exactly where to start every day. And by pairing it with the simple checklist layouts in Microsoft To Do, you’ll end up with a solid task management process. Want to learn how? First, we’ll dive into a brief explanation of the Ivy Lee method.

What Is the Ivy Lee Method?

The Ivy Lee method is an excellent way to take the stress out of daily planning. Here’s a quick overview of how it works:

Write down six tasks each evening to focus on the next day.
List them in order, putting higher-priority items first.
The following day, work through your list and check items off as you go.
If you finish your list, avoid adding more tasks—maybe use the time to catch up on smaller things or some relaxation.
Whatever’s left on your list, carry it forward to the next day as you write your new list.

The idea is you’ll know exactly where to start the following day and what task comes next. If you compare Apple Reminders, Google Keep, and Microsoft To Do, you'll notice they all offer a checklist format. But the latter seems like it was meant for the Ivy Lee method, thanks to its My Day and Tasks list views.

You could be wondering what happens to all of your other tasks, the six that don’t make the daily list. My Day and Tasks work together to prevent things from falling through the cracks. My Day is your daily list, and Tasks is for everything else list. You can call this your backlog.

Creating a Backlog in Microsoft To Do

A backlog is where you store all your to-dos. It may sound kind of chaotic, but there's no need to get too granular. Think of work tasks, chores, and projects that don’t happen as part of your daily routine. For example, proofreading a report or writing a marketing proposal, not checking your emails, or doing the dishes.

When you learn about the task, you add it to your backlog where it won't be forgotten, won't be a distraction, and is easily accessible at any time.

The perfect place for your backlog in Microsoft To Do is in the Tasks tab. You’ll find it in the sidebar on the left. Creating a to-do list here is as simple as typing the items you want to include in the add a task field and hitting enter.

If you want to add more details to tasks, click the one you’d like to expand upon, and a right sidebar will open. Here, you can:

Add the task to your My Day list.
Create reminders.
Give your task a due date.
Put it on repeat—making it a recurring task daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or custom.
Categorize your tasks.
Attach a file.
Write a note.

You don’t need to be overly detailed, but you’ll want to include enough information about the task to remember specifics later. This is especially important for items that may sit on your backlog for a while.

Once you've listed all your to-dos, you’ll use your backlog to plan your daily to-do list.

Writing Your Daily To-Do List in Microsoft To Do

Just like the backlog, Microsoft To Do offers the perfect place for your daily list, the My Day tab. You can find it in the left sidebar at the top. It's important to remember your list will clear automatically once the date changes, so you won't want to move items over as you choose what you want to do the next day.

Instead, as you review items in your backlog, click on the star on the six items you want to work on.

In the morning, click the tasks you want to move over and select Add to my day to do so. They’ll also stay in your backlog or Tasks tab with the label My Day. When Microsoft To Do clears any unfinished items, you can quickly find them again, thanks to the stars you placed on them previously.

Certainly, it would be easier if your list didn't clear nightly, but this gives you time to review your tasks in the morning and also a fresh start each day. Within your My Day tab, you can click and drag the items here to prioritize them. You can also take another look at some of the items on your backlog by clicking Suggestions in the top-right corner.

When you check a task off, you can find it in the Completed section of your Tasks tab. Additionally, you can turn on the Completed smart list in your settings—the gear in the top-right corner of your screen—to show your finished tasks in the sidebar.

You may find a different number of tasks that works for you. No sweat if you can’t find six every day, especially if you know you won’t complete that many.

Smart Lists to Use Alongside the Ivy Lee Method in Microsoft To Do

There are many productive ways to use Microsoft To Do. Alongside its simple to-do list layouts, Microsoft To Do offers smart lists to help you stay organized and get things done. These are especially handy if you want to keep additional lists for reminders, ideas, or random things to prevent them from cluttering your Tasks list or backlog.

Here's what they do:

Important—clicking the star beside any item rates it as important. Microsoft To Do then rounds these tasks up into the Important tab in the app, so you can find them all in one place. This is especially helpful if your backlog is lengthy and you want to find your starred items swiftly.
Planned—Microsoft To Do also gathers any items you assign a date to in the Planned tab. Here you’ll find your tasks in groups such as Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, and Later.
Assigned to me—if you collaborate with others in Microsoft To Do or Microsoft Planner, you can also check here for tasks they’ve delegated to you.
All—this smart list shows every to-do you create in Microsoft To Do.
Completed—a place for all your finished tasks. Once you check an item off, you can find it here or in the Completed section of its list.

If you don’t want one or any of these to appear in your sidebar, you can toggle them off in your settings under the gear icon in the top right. Additionally, you can auto-hide empty smart lists and hide sidebar titles from connected apps—Planner and Flagged email.

The ability to hide what you don’t use brings more focus to the features you do. That way, you’re only paying attention to what’s most important, and tasks are less likely to be overlooked or forgotten.

Prevent Tasks From Falling Between the Cracks With Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do almost feels like its developers had the Ivy Lee method in mind. Its Tasks and My Day tabs pair up to bring you a seamless daily list that’ll help make planning a breeze. If you need to take your to-do list on the go, simply download the mobile app. Better yet, Microsoft To Do is available at no cost with a Microsoft account.