Have you ever looked back at the end of a day and wondered, “What did I really do today?”
Happens to me every day.
It is not that I waste my time. Or procrastinate. I am pretty diligent and committed. Still, at the end of each day, I feel I haven’t achieved anything.
Most of our time is spent, by default, on Busy Bandwagons and in Infinity Pools. Busy Bandwagons are overflowing inbox, stuffed calendars, endless to-do lists. Infinity Pools are social media apps and other sources of endless replenishing content.
Life is so busy and chaotic these days. That is why we are constantly stressed and disturbed. Powerful forces compete for every minute of our time. And we have expectations from ourselves to be productive for every minute of the day.
Productivity is not the solution. I have tried to shave off chores and cram in more on my to-do lists. The trouble is there are always more tasks and requests waiting to go on the lists. The faster you run on the hamster wheel, the faster it spins.
‘ONE THING’ is.
What is that ONE THING you can do that by doing it, everything else would be easier or unnecessary?
Just focus on that.
Park everything else. Don’t worry; you will get them done too.
Pick ONE THING. Give it all your time, energy, and attention. Complete it.
“Be like a postage stamp sticks to one thing until you get there.” — Josh Billings.
You will be surprised by how quickly you will be able to finish it.
Take the rest of the day off.
Don’t hop on to the next task.
That is the only solution I found that works after struggling with competing priorities for two and half years of my writing career.
It is not about saving time. It is about making time for what matters. It is about making space in your calendar, in your brain, and your days.
Being productive doesn’t mean doing more things. It means concentrating on ONE THING that has the most impact and doing it with unwavering concentration.
Make a list of all the mini-projects you want to do. Then allocate a day for the—one project, one day. If the project is bigger, allocate 2 days or 5 days.
Prioritize and proceed.
This is what I have been doing while working on my next book. I stopped writing articles. I stopped going on social media. I even stopped checking my emails.
Magic happens when you start the day with one high-priority goal. You get more done when you don’t have competing priorities. You understand the importance of focused energy and clear thinking.
Decide what that ONE THING is that will have the most impact.
Do it.
That’s it from me this week.
Take care.
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I absolutely agree with you Neera. Sometimes we try to do too many things all at once and compromise the result we had expected. Focusing on one thing at a time will most often give you the desired result you wanted . Move on, one after the other until they are all
Finish. Nice perspective.