Today I’d like to share a little bit about the main idea within a book we recently read as a company at RTS. It’s called The One Thing. It’s a fun read, and it’s pretty simple.
First let’s talk a little bit about multi-tasking. Usually people believe that they are “good” at multi-tasking and implement that into their daily lives. This might be true for minor tasks at home and things like that but, if you truly want to excel at what you do, multi-tasking is a no go. If we think about it in a completely rational way, the only way we can be the most efficient and effective at a certain activity is to place our complete focus on that one thing while we do it, otherwise, we’re just doing two things at the same time at a mediocre level.
Once we’re get past this desire to multi-task, and once we’ve accepted the fact that we are not gods capable of doing everything perfectly at the same time, we are presented with the question:
What is that ONE thing that we can do that will make other things in our life will be obsolete, unnecessary, or easier?
This simple question asked about everything in our life has a way of focusing our priorities and sky rocketing our effectiveness. When we can really just relax and focus on the most important thing we can sky rocket our effectiveness and get the important things done first and then at the end of the day we can relax and have fun and not worry about all the important things we never got to.
Here are some example one thing questions:
- What one thing can I do at home to improve my marriage that will make everything else I do to improve my marge obsolete unnecessary or easier?
- What one thing can I do at work to improve my efficiency such that other things in my life will be obsolete, unnecessary or easier?
- What one thing can I do to boost my relationship with my children such that other things in my life will be obsolete, unnecessary or easier?
- What one thing can I do to improve my finances such that other things in my life will be obsolete, unnecessary or easier?
- And the list goes on…
Posing this question to ourselves, will not only improve our effectiveness in the one thing that we choose to focus on, but will also prevent us from getting drained by doing more unnecessary activities, or by doing certain activities in a more difficult way than we should. It’s something to keep in mind, and I believe it is part of what marks the difference between a successful person and somebody that is not.
At the start of the day, ask yourself, what is the one thing? Then just keep asking yourself the same question during the rest of the day, until you start filtering out everything you don’t need in a probably already very busy life
