Andy Frisella Power List (2026): 5 Critical Tasks, Rules, Examples & Apps

The short answer (checked November 1, 2026): The Power List is Andy Frisella's daily method of writing five critical tasks that move you toward your goals. Finish all five and you win the day; miss one and you lose it. You can run it in a notebook, in the Power List app from 44Seven Media, or inside The Operator Standard, where the ARCANE AI suggests the tasks and a crew sees your score.

What is Andy Frisella's Power List?

The Power List is a list of five critical tasks you must finish each day to make progress on your biggest goals. Andy Frisella's official article says he has used it every day for more than 20 years. It is not a to-do list or a habit checklist: if all five get done, you win the day.

The method comes from Andy Frisella's article The Power List: Critical Tasks (December 30, 2022). He is clear about what it is not: "The Power List isn't a checklist. It isn't a to-do list. It isn't a list of habits you already have." The point is to build the habit of winning by executing on a few things that matter, every day.

The scoring is binary on purpose. His summary: win enough days and you win the week, enough weeks and you win the month, enough months and you win the year, and "if you win enough years, you WIN YOUR LIFE."

What are the rules of the Power List?

There are five rules in the official article. Write five critical tasks a day, no more and no less. Finish all five to win the day. Replace a task after 21 straight days because it has become a habit. Run it every day, weekends included. Raise the difficulty as your goals grow.

Rule	What the official article says
Five tasks	"5 critical tasks a day ... no more, no less"
Win or lose	All five done between waking and bed is a win; anything less is a loss
21-day swap	A task done 21 days in a row "has become a habit"; keep doing it, but replace it on the list
Every day	"Yes, that includes Saturday and Sunday"
Grow the list	If the tasks have not changed in six months, "re-evaluate your effort"
In addition, not instead	Critical tasks are on top of your current responsibilities, not a replacement for them

Source: The Power List: Critical Tasks, checked November 1, 2026. The Power List app's site repeats the same 21-day rule.

What counts as a critical task?

A critical task is one of the most impactful things you can do today toward a clear, specific outcome. Chores such as doing the dishes or walking the dog do not count. The official article says you first define your goals in detail, then reverse-engineer them into daily actions only you can choose.

The article's own example is someone who wants to become the best salesperson at their company. Its sample list:

Call two current customers to check in on them.
Read 10 pages of a book that will make you better at sales.
Meet one new person who could benefit from your product or service.
Role-play a hard customer conversation with a co-worker.
Listen to one business or sales podcast episode.

The Power List app's FAQ gives a similar test: tasks should move you forward in your life or career and be things "you aren't already doing on a daily basis," such as five extra sales calls or meal prep, not yard work.

A quick test for each task

These checks are our own suggestions, built from the rules above:

Can you finish it today? "Grow my business" is a goal. "Send three proposals" is a task.
Would it move a goal you wrote down? If you cannot name the goal, cut it.
Are you already doing it every day? Then it is a habit, not a critical task.
Is it yours to finish? "Hear back from the client" depends on someone else. "Follow up with the client" does not.

How do you run a Power List day?

Write tomorrow's five tasks the night before, so the morning starts with a plan. Do the hardest one first. Check each off as it is done, and at night mark the day won or lost honestly. Track the run of won days, because the streak is what builds the habit of winning.

A simple routine that follows the official rules:

Evening: write five tasks for tomorrow, each tied to a goal.
Morning: read the list before you open email or social media.
During the day: finish the tasks in addition to your normal responsibilities.
Night: mark the day won only if all five are done. No partial credit.
Every 21 days: look for tasks that have become habits and replace them.

For more on the daily side, see how to win the day and how to plan your day.

What are the ways to run the Power List?

There are three. Paper costs the least: the official article points to a Power List notebook, but any notebook works. The Power List app from 44Seven Media digitizes the list with stats and reminders. The Operator Standard keeps the same five-task idea and adds ARCANE AI, streaks, strikes and crews.

	Notebook	The Power List app	The Operator Standard
Who picks the five tasks	You	You	You, with ARCANE AI suggesting tasks from up to three goals
Scoring	You mark won or lost	Calendar of won and lost days, stats, momentum	Streaks, strikes, Life Score, weekly progress report
Accountability	Yourself	Yourself, plus shareable win screens	Crews with chat and audio rooms, leaderboards
Reminders	None	Custom reminders when tasks are not done	Morning briefing, calendar sync
Content	None	Daily quote from Andy Frisella	New MFCEO Project episodes, livestreams
Platforms	Paper	iPhone and iPad (no Android, per its FAQ)	iPhone, Apple-silicon Mac, Apple Vision and Android
US price	Cost of a notebook	Free download; listing says a paid subscription is required ($4.99 or $49.99 in-app purchases)	$50/mo or $500/yr on the website; $49.99/mo or $549.99/yr in the App Store
US App Store rating	Not applicable	4.6 from 65 ratings	4.9 from 802 ratings

Sources: The Power List on the US App Store, the Power List app FAQ, The Operator Standard on the US App Store and the official page. Checked November 1, 2026.

How does The Operator Standard use the Power List?

The Operator Standard is built around the same five critical tasks a day. Its official MFCEO page calls it "the Power List, digital, with streaks you protect and strikes you can't hide from." The difference is that ARCANE AI can fill empty task slots from your goals, and your crew can see whether you won.

Andy Frisella's MFCEO Project page describes the app as "that notebook, turned into a machine" and lists four parts: the digital Power List with streaks and strikes, ARCANE building daily critical tasks from your goals, crews and leaderboards, and new MFCEO Project episodes each week.

In the app since version 1.42.0, you can add your own tasks first and ARCANE fills only the slots that are left. You can edit or swap any suggestion. That matters for Power List purists: you can still write all five yourself and use the app for the scorekeeping and crew. Read the full Operator Standard guide for how a day works.

Which should you use: paper, the Power List app or The Operator Standard?

Start on paper if you have never run the method, because it costs almost nothing and shows whether the five-task rule suits you. Pick the Power List app if you want stats and reminders on an iPhone. Pick The Operator Standard if you want help choosing tasks and people watching your score.

Choose paper if you want to test the method this week for the price of a notebook.
Choose the Power List app if you like writing your own tasks and only want the score and reminders on your phone. It is iPhone and iPad only.
Choose The Operator Standard if you keep losing days because no one notices, or you struggle to turn goals into tasks. It costs much more, so judge it on whether your won days go up in the first month.

We are a member of The Operator Standard's team, so weigh our view on the third option accordingly. The method works on paper, and the official article says so.

Where does the Power List show up in 75 Hard and LIVEHARD?

75 Hard has five fixed daily tasks for everyone, which the official article compares to a Power List. LIVEHARD, the year-long program that starts with 75 Hard, adds three extra critical Power List tasks a day in Phase 1 and Phase 3. If you already run a Power List, those three come on top.

See our LIVEHARD program guide for every phase and the Operator Standard vs 75 Hard comparison for how the challenge and the app differ.

Frequently asked questions

How many tasks are on the Power List?

Five critical tasks a day, no more and no less. Andy Frisella's own article says you win the day only if you finish all five between waking up and going to bed. The Power List app's FAQ says the limit is deliberate, to keep the list sustainable.

Do Power List tasks have to change?

Yes, over time. The official article says a task done 21 days in a row has become a habit, so you keep doing it but replace it on the list with a new critical task. It also says a list unchanged for six months needs re-evaluating.

Is the Power List app free?

It is free to download from the US App Store, but its listing says it requires a paid subscription, with in-app purchases of $4.99 and $49.99 shown as The Power List Unlocked. It is iPhone and iPad only, per its FAQ.

Is the Power List the same as The Operator Standard?

No. The Power List is the method, and the Power List app is a manual five-task list. The Operator Standard uses the same five-task idea but adds ARCANE AI to suggest tasks from your goals, plus streaks, strikes, crews and new MFCEO Project episodes, for $50 a month.

Do weekends count on the Power List?

Yes. The official article says every day means every single day, including Saturday and Sunday, and argues that skipping weekends leaves close to 30 percent of your life on the table.

Where do these facts come from?

The Power List: Critical Tasks (December 30, 2022): definition, rules, 21-day swap, six-month review, weekends, sales example
What is the LIVEHARD Program?: three extra critical Power List tasks in Phase 1 and Phase 3
The Power List on the US App Store: publisher, features, subscription note, in-app prices, rating
Power List app site and FAQ: five-task limit, iOS only, task examples
The MFCEO Project Is Back: how the publisher describes The Operator Standard's digital Power List
The Operator Standard on the US App Store: rating, prices, version 1.42.0 notes

All checked November 1, 2026. This page is from a member of The Operator Standard team; Andy Frisella did not write, review or endorse it. See our editorial policy.