At the start of 2021 I listened to a podcast episode that discussed a framework for goal setting and building better habits. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit of a goal setting enthusiast around the start of each year. Historically, I’ve started out each year with a laundry list of things I’d like to accomplish for the following 12 months. But how often do we hear people tell us “less is more?” It’s a concept that I think most of us understand but don’t necessarily put into practice, especially when it comes to setting goals. So when this specific podcast episode re-aired the other week, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to again ask the question: “What is the ONE thing that I can do now that will make everything else easier or unnecessary?”
Whether it is New Year’s resolutions or your to-do list, how often do you feel like you’ve accomplished whatever it is you’ve set out to do? Or instead, do you find that you always feel incredibly busy yet your list never seems to get any shorter? The overall idea of “The ONE Thing” seems too simple to be revolutionary but it’s a shift in mindset that might make all the difference. If we can figure out that one thing that’ll make everything else either easy or unnecessary, we can pour our energy into that one thing and make actual progress. The opposite of this would be to have a list of priorities and bounce from task to task without making any real progress forward in any area. It could be as simple as spending the first hour of your day on your most important work project, before even opening up your email. Or it could be leaving your phone outside of the bedroom at night so you won’t be tempted by the allure of the snooze button or mindless scrolling come morning.
If you’re still not sold on the simplicity of this idea, I invite you to listen to the aforementioned podcast interview with the VP of The ONE Thing or read this article on The ONE Thing’s website, which discusses the six productivity myths most of us are telling ourselves. The six productivity myths go a little something like this:
Everything matters equally.
Multitasking can help us be more productive.
We must be disciplined at all times.
Willpower can always be relied upon.
Our lives should always be in balance.
We should make sure our goals aren’t too big.
The start of a new year is a “fresh slate” and a promise of everything to come. If you are anything like me, I’ve had too many Decembers where I’d find myself feeling discouraged that I set yet another goal (or many goals) back in January that I didn’t see through to the end. But if we reframe our thinking, narrow in on what’s most important and realize that many of the practices we see as being productive are in fact halting our progress, this time next year we’ll find ourselves feeling accomplished and ready to welcome another year.
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