Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 6 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: One Question You Must Ask to Use Your Time Optimally
— From The ONE Thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan (watch the book trailer)
“The way to get the most out of your work and your life
“Going small,” they continue, “is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do. It’s recognizing that not all things matter equally and finding the things that matter most. It’s a tighter way to connect what you do with what you want. It’s realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.”
Because we only have so much time and energy, if we try to do too much we’ll end up spreading ourselves too thin. Thus, Keller and Papasan offer the following one question—which they call The Focusing Question—to get us laser focused on obtaining extraordinary results:
“What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Extraordinary results do not happen in a vacuum. They happen as a result of the choices we make and the actions we take, at all levels. And while tremendously simple at first glance, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of this one question, because it can lead us to answer…
“Not only ‘big picture’questions (Where am I going? What target should I aim for) but also ‘small focus’ ones as well (What must I do right now to be in the path to getting the big picture? Where’s the bulls-eye?). It tells you not only what your basket should be, but also the first step toward getting it. It shows you how big your life can be and just how small you must go to get there. It’s both a map for the big picture and a compass for your smallest next move. […] It leads you to the first domino.”
Let me, then, close this post by asking you: What’s the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
ACTION
TODAY: Ask The Focusing Question again and again. The answer, each time, will be your priority.
FUTURE: Keep asking again and again. If you focus on whatever the answer is (your priority at the moment), you will be working towards your goals and knowing that you are going in the right direction.
Know someone who would benefit from asking this one question to get laser-focused on his or her goals? Please share this post via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Thanks!