The CEO of Airbnb starts each morning with a simple but effective twist on the standard to-do list
Mike Windle/Getty Images
Chesky is the CEO of Airbnb, now valued at $31 billion, and he's currently overseeing its transformation into a full-blown travel service.
That process starts each morning with his simple but effective twist on the standard to-do list.
Chesky explained his technique to Greylock investor and LinkedIn founder and chairman Reid Hoffman for an episode of Hoffman's podcast "Masters of Scale."
- Make a list of everything you want to accomplish that day. Be as exhaustive as possible.
- Group a few similar tasks together.
- Ask yourself for each group: What one action takes care of all of these? "It's like a game of leverage," Chesky said.
- Repeat the grouping and refining process until you have just a few big tasks.
"If you have a list of 20 things to do, you end up realizing, 'I don't need to do 20 things,'" Chesky said. "If I do these three big things, the other 20 things will kind of happen as outcomes, or outputs, of it."
Chesky's strategy is similar to the way "Shark Tank" investor Barbara Corcoran grades all of her personal and business tasks. She gives each point a letter grade from A to F, and then makes a list of only the As. Then, she gives each of those a grade, with a much tougher lens, and she only works toward accomplishing the ones that get the final A grade. She recommends the technique to all of the new entrepreneurs she works with, who are learning how to live with responsibilities that could easily overtake their lives.
Author and podcast host Tim Ferriss also approaches his to-do lists from a similar angle, except that he takes it a step further and defines one task that he absolutely must complete that day.
You can listen to the full episode of Hoffman's podcast wherever you get podcasts or can find it below.
- I got a $40K raise using this 30-second strategy. It made me realize loud work, not hard work, always wins.
- Qatar Airways' new CEO explains why it's sticking with the Airbus A380 as other airlines retire the costly superjumbo
- Prince Harry and Meghan found out about Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis on TV like everyone else, report says
- Kia India looks to expand sales, service network to 700 touchpoints by year-end
- Shapoorji Pallonji’s Afcons Infra files DRHP for ₹7,000 crore IPO
- Water crisis affects businesses across Bengaluru; Is there room for cautious optimism?
- BenQ Zowie EC2-CW review – Premium wireless mouse for gamers
- Banks' GNPAs set to improve further to 2.1 pc by FY25: Care Ratings