There’s a tall stack of books on my nightstand. Always.
On any given day, I’m reading at least 5 different books. But it’s rare that I read one cover to cover. Listening to audio books (while folding laundry, driving, exercising) has helped me finish more books this year! Still, it does something to my soul to hold an actual book-with-pages in my hands. Does anyone else love the way books smell??
The latest book I finished is one that several friends had recommended during a season of intense overwhelm. I was trying to do allll the things, some for which I had little or no passion. Consequently, I didn’t have the freedom to focus and do any one thing with excellence.
I like doing things with excellence.
Enter The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results.
I have to say I was initially turned off by author Gary Keller’s anti-multitasking rant. I take great pride in being a multitasker extraordinaire. Hey, I juggle 7 kids, a husband, a house, a couple small businesses, taxes (ugh!), my personal health, and all the things! I struggled so much with Keller’s affront to my modus operandi that I almost stopped reading the book altogether. It is ludicrous to order any mama to cease and desist from multitasking! But I digress. Thanks to this book I find myself more mindful of which tasks truly warrant my undivided attention and which ones can be completed in tandem with others.
My biggest takeaway from the book has been the Focusing Question. I now ask myself the Focusing Question multiple times a week – sometimes multiple times a day – and I encourage you to give it a go! It goes something like this:
“What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
It reminds me of a similar question I’ve asked myself for years: What is the very best use of my time in this moment? That in this moment part is key!
For example, in this moment my kiddos are playing with a babysitter so I can have time to work (and drink a cup of coffee) without interruption. There are a million things I could do right now, but some of them could easily be accomplished while the kids are with me. I’ll save those tasks for later and choose to work now on the things that demand my undivided attention.
Maybe your one thing right now is balancing your budget (more on that later) to clear some mental space so you can relax and be more present with your kids. Maybe it’s setting a timer and taking a power nap while the baby sleeps. Maybe it’s jotting down a basic weekly plan (and attaching it to the fridge or bathroom mirror) to give yourself some routine.
If you are like me and your to do list is overwhelmingly infinite, try a brain dump! Grab a pen & paper and start scribbling allll the things you need and/or want to do. When you read over your list, I bet you’ll see which of your tasks, once accomplished, really will make some of your other tasks easier or even unnecessary!
I’d love to hear what your One Thing is… feel free to leave a comment.
No Comments