Getting To Know The One Thing
Priorities. People say the word when they have a lot — and I mean a lot — of things on their plate — and want to look cool. Many people use the excuse of being busy, or I’m behind my deadline, and so forth. While the fact is, people are not setting their real goals.
Imagine that you have to run while holding a cup of coffee in one hand and reading this article in your other hand. I want to print an image to see that it’s not impossible to do, but it is very messy and not efficient. Yes, you can say I can do that; I’m a “multitasker” juggling multiple tasks simultaneously. I won’t argue, but imagine that the pilot that is flying your flight is multitasking — other than his duty — what would you think of that? You will be frightened for your life.
Another example, a doctor is performing a difficult operation on you, and he’s a pro. Hence, he decided to multitask, answer questions from the medical staff, chat with his wife on the phone, and watch Netflix while operating on your body. Is that ok? If not, then you get the picture. Multitasking is misunderstood.
Priorites Are Overraated
When we set priorities, we are simply listing them from high to low priority. In fact, we are just trying to convince ourselves that this list is the work for the day. That work needs to be done. The list of tasks based on what I feel is more important is fine, but taking that list and starting to work based on importance is wrong. Say there are three tasks on my list; I ordered these tasks based on their importance and started working on the first one. The thing that I did not take into account is the following:
- How long will it take?
Time is important, and what if task #3 is so easy that I could finish it in 2 minutes? Shouldn’t I start with that? The answer is always yes; tasks that take less time and are easier to get done are the best to start with. In this case, you will end up finishing more than one task a day, making you feel accomplished — if numbers matter to you. - What would happen if time runs out and I missed task #2?
The answers to this question will tell you whether you are on the right track or not. For example, simply saying that thinking about multiple tasks and switching between them might increase the time you spend on the tasks. On the other hand, having a priority list is not always the right way if you get overwhelmed thinking about the less important tasks — in this case, tasks #2 and #3. - Am I ready to start this task now?
Seriously, are you mentally ready to start the task at hand? If not, don't. If you are willing to give all your focus and attention to a task, don’t start it. If you did, you will probably spend too much time on it or end up doing it wrong.
Goals And Time
Instead of saying “priorities,” say “goals.” The former is undervaluing tasks that are not on top of the list and creating an overwhelming sensation when you want to start the day. However, whenever you call your tasks goals, you can focus on the most important things and design your way to achieve them more productively.
Switching between tasks is not recommended as the extra time needed to switch focus and figure out where you left off is not worth it. Instead, focus on the one thing you need to achieve, and use a timer — the Pomodoro technique is a great way to focus on your task while keeping time under control. I use TickTick and Forest apps. By doing so and focusing on the one thing, you minimize switching costs, which is time.
The One Thing
“Focusing on less will allow you to achieve more.”
This is what the authors Gary Keller & Jay Papasan talked about in their book “The ONE Thing’’. The book is great for understanding time and task management and focusing on the one important thing. The one question that the authors emphasized in their book was:
“What one thing I can do,
such that by doing it,
makes everything else easier or unnecessary.”
Things are not equally important. Once we answer this question, we can then move forward and address all the tasks that we need to achieve in our day. The authors also stressed the following:
“Urgent doesn’t equal importance.”
Knowing that when you feel overwhelmed with the load of work and thing that you need to achieve all is just an urgency, your mind is telling you to start doing the tasks, where if you know what is important and what can be rescheduled, delegated, or even eliminated, you will then reach the highest productivity in your work.
That’s all for this post; I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, it would be great to share it with your friends and family. Also, if you want me to write about a certain topic/method in productivity, I would be more than happy.
Have a nice day,
- Ahmad
