Title The One Thing

Author Gary W. Keller & Jay Papasan

Year Published 2013

Kind of Book Organization/Productivity

How strongly I recommend it 7/10 

My Impressions This is a book about priorities or should I say "priority" (singular). The book argues that we all have one thing in our lives (a business plan, a novel, a startup etc.) that is more important than anything else and if we work at it everyday great things will happen. Good read, though "Essentialism" is better for this topic imo.

Date Read Jan 2018

Practical Takeaways

  • Find the things that matter most

  • Prioritize your To-Do list

  • "Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there."-Josh Billings

  • Every day line up your priorities.

  • Don’t attempt too much

  • Don’t get trapped in the ‘check off’ game (do the things that matter most)

  • “Don’t focus on being busy; focus on being productive. Allow what matters most to drive your day.'

  • Use the 80/20 Principle

  • Don't multitask

  • Only focus on implementing one new habit at a time.

  • Once a habit is solidly established, you can either build on that habit or, build another one.

  • Eat food that elevate blood sugar evenly over long periods like complex carbohydrates and proteins

  • Stop striving for balance in your life. (“Magic happens at the extremes.”)

  • Do your most important work (your one thing) early, before your willpower is drawn down.

  • Family, Health, Friends need constant attention, but other areas don't need to be balanced at all times

  • Separate your personal life and your work life into two buckets

  • Have big specific goals

  • visualize the process- breaking the big goal down into the steps needed to achieve it

  • “Put all your eggs in one basket, and then, watch that basket-John D. Rockefeller

  • Order the things on your to-do list in order of importance.

  • “Accept that time on one thing means time away from another."

  • Go through the 80/20 Principal for every area of your life

  • Get plenty of sleep

  • Hug, kiss, and laugh with loved ones for emotional energy

  • Cut out negative/toxic/energy vampires from your life

  • Narrow your concentration to one thing

  • "Find the lead domino [priority], and whack away at it until it falls"

  • Concentrate on one thing at a time.("It's those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.")-Og Mandino

  • Separate out the should do's with the could do's, then prioritize the could do's

  • Keep asking what matters most until there is only one thing left

  • Do the right thing, not everything right

  • Be a person of powerful habits and use selected discipline to develop them

  • Build one habit at a time. Give each habit enough time. Stick with the discipline long enough for it to become routine (66days)

  • Don't spread your willpower too thin.

  • Eat right regularly

  • Don't attend to all things

  • "Don't order from the menu" ie. Don't chose a career from the current available paths. Create your own career

  • "Act bold"

  • Study people who have already achieved it

  • Don't fear failure

  • "Be careful how you interpret the world"

  • Clear away the clutter and focus on what matters most

  • Ask good questions

  • Ask yourself "What's the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

  • Find the one thing for all areas of your life (spiritual life, physical health, personal life, relationships, job, business, finances,

  • Recruit support ie. people to hold you accountable

  • Think big and specific when setting goals (eg. I want to make $500,000 next year)

  • Live with purpose

  • Discover your big why ie. What drives you

  • Write your goals down and keep them close

  • Don't make your goal getting more do, but having less to do

  • Block time as early in your day as you can (for willpower)

  • Give yourself 30mins to 1hr for morning priorities than move on to your one thing

  • Block 4 hours a day to focus on your one thing

  • Be a maker in the morning and a manager in the afternoon

  • Block an hour each week to review your annual and monthly goals

  • Protect your time block at all costs

  • Get on with it

  • Own your problems

  • Acknowledge and Seek reality

  • Don't be a victim

  • Find a coach ("you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who achieves extraordinary results without one")

  • Commit to be your best

  • Say no to things

  • Don't try to please everyone

  • "Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher"-Oprah Winfrey

  • Take one step at a time, but keep stepping -Chinese Proverb

  • Live with no regrets

  • Make sure you do what matters most every day

  • Order the things on your to -do list with priority.

  • Every day line up your priorities.

  • Don’t attempt too much

  • Work from a clear sense of priority

  • Do your most important work (your one thing) early, before your willpower is drawn down.

  • When you say yes to something, be aware of what you’re saying no to.

Big Ideas

  • If you pursue two things you will not get either of them

  • Concentrating your time/energy on one thing is the key to success

  • Discipline is only required for a short time until it becomes a habit

  • We can only do one thing at a time

  • When we try to do two things at once, we do neither well

  • Not all things matter equally

  • You can only have one Priority (priority is singular, not plural)

  • Great things happen when you concentrate your energy into one thing ie. Concentrate your forcers

  • "It is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most eggs in this country.”-John D. Rockefeller

Surprising Facts

  • Researchers estimate we lose 29% of an average workday to “task switching” cost