The one thing
The surprisingly super truth behind extraordinary results.
By Gary Kelley with Jay Papsan
If you're keen to read the whole thing and want to show your appreciation for the author, you can easily do so by purchasing the book from this link. Happy reading!
The book in 3 Sentences
- Everything doesn’t matter equality.
- Multitasking & work-life balance is a life.
- Allow that one thing that matters most to drive your day instead of focusing on being busy.
Overall thoughts
I love this book! It quickly found a place on my favorite book list. ☺️ There are several reasons why it resonated with me so strongly. Firstly, the author's argument that focusing on one thing is the key to success struck a chord with me (I was hesitant at first but gave in by the end of reading the book). What's more, the way he presented this argument was both engaging and easy to follow. I particularly appreciated the fact that at the end of each chapter, he provided a summary of the key takeaways - This helped to reinforce the main points that he was trying to convey in each chapter and made the book even more impactful.
In addition to this, the book also introduced me to a question that I think will become a guiding principle in my life. The question was "What's the One Thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?" This question is simple, yet so profound, and I found it to be a game-changer because of how easily it can be applied to different aspects of your life.
And finally, the reason this went into my favorite list is because I believe that this book contains a wealth of information, and reading it just once is not enough. It's the kind of book you'll want to revisit many times in the future, as you'll likely find new insights and inspiration with each read. It’s a book that I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking to improve their focus, productivity, and overall quality of life.
How this book change me
- I’m trying out time blocking and blocking out 4 hours of my day to do my one thing. 🫣
- I changed my notion tasks database based on priorities (The one thing, priority 2 and 3).
- I created a Google excel document with the whole year's calendar so I could have an overview of everyone and define one thing of each month.
My favorite quotes
- “Life is a question and how we live it is our answer. How we phrase the questions we ask ourselves determines the answers that eventually become our life”
- “The Focusing Question is a double-duty question. It comes in two forms: big picture and small focus. One is about finding the right direction in life, and the other is about finding the right action.”
- “You can become successful with less discipline than you think, for one simple reason: success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right.”
- None of us knows our limits. Borders and boundaries may be clear on a map, but when we apply them to our lives, the lines aren’t so apparent.