Do the One Thing That Matters

Source: Brett Jordan / Unsplash

Sometimes you think you can do everything. Worst of all, you try to do it all at once. You jump from one thing to another and endlessly alternate between tasks without finishing any of them.

This will not only leave you exhausted but lead to a growing to-do list. Other times, you focus and do just the one thing that matters, the one thing that is your number one priority. That is when magic happens.

While research on unitasking is limited, the science of multitasking is clear: Research has repeatedly shown that it is rarely good for anyone. It slows you down, increases the risk of errors, gives a false sense of productivity, and can even reduce cognitive function in your brain. Hence, maybe you should try to avoid it.

Enter unitasking. Unitasking means working on one thing at a time with your full effort and attention. It means eliminating distractions and putting your smartphone in the drawer (unless your task involves your phone).

It means being mindful and present with the one task at hand. It means being more productive and feeling less stressed and happier overall.

But the questions are:

• How do you know when you should just do that one thing and let everything else go?
• How do you make peace with the idea that you will only do that one thing and nothing else?
• How do you do just that one thing that matters while also letting go of the worry, guilt, and stress of not getting to the other things or having to do them later?

Let’s dive into these questions.

1. How do you do just that one thing—and let everything else go?

When I think about this question, this Mark Twain quote comes to mind: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”

Twenty years from now, are you going to be disappointed if today you choose to focus on only the one thing that matters the most to you? Chances are you’re going to say no. Sure, sometimes the answers aren’t as clear-cut as that, and things that you care about are competing for your attention.

That’s when you’ve got to dig deeper into your heart and say which one of these matters the most right now. What is it that you’re yearning to do? What is it that feels right deep down?

This brings us to the second question.

2. How do you make peace with doing one thing and nothing else?

This reminds me of the well-known proverb about the rabbit chase: "If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one."

My philosophy in life is to do one thing well, rather than to do two things poorly. Sure, doing two things might get two things crossed off your to-do list but doing them below your usual high standards defeats the point of doing them at all.

You’ve got to do things to the best of your ability, and if that means just doing one thing, that’s OK. In fact, that’s miles better. You avoid multitasking and achieve so much more by putting your heart and soul into one thing.

Now, it’s important to say this doesn’t mean that you do that one thing perfectly. There is no such thing as perfection, so don’t take this as a sign that you have to spend hours, days, weeks, months, or even years perfecting something. You want to do it properly. Give yourself a realistic, achievable timeframe, and do your best within it.

Finally, this brings us to the final, perhaps most tricky, question.

3. How do you let go of the worry, guilt, and stress of not doing the other things?

If you’re going to commit to doing just the one thing that matters and nothing else, you’ve also got to commit to letting go of the other things for the time being. That means committing to letting go of the worry, guilt, and stress too. That’s easiest done if you create a plan of when you will do the other things. Then, you know they will get done because you’ve scheduled them for later, and you can fully focus on your one thing without worrying about anything else.

Productivity Essential Reads

The Dangers of Confusing Activity With Productivity

12 Simple Ways to Increase Your Productivity

At the end of the day, you've got to connect to yourself and explore what feels right for you. Only you know whether you can do just the one thing that matters and only you know what that one thing is.

Ideally, it is that big burning yes that Stephen Covey pointed to: "You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, unapologetically—to say 'no' to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside."