One very valuable tool that people looking to optimized their efforts have been applying for a good while now is called the 80/20 rule. This rule stems from a few studies that found that 80% of results came from 20% of inputs or changes. Since these studies came out, a number of books have been written and many people began trying to apply this rule to get more results from smarter efforts.
The thing I love about The One Thing is that it takes this idea to its logical conclusion. If 20% of efforts gives you 80% of your results, then what 20% of that 20% gives you 80% of the 80%? What’s the 80/20 of the 80/20? And what about the 80/20 of that? And then it condenses this into one question.
What’s the one thing I could be doing, such that by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?
I want you to read that again.
What’s the one thing I could be doing, such that by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?
This is a powerful question, because it forces you to think about the effects of the actions you take and to take time to figure out exactly what the best use of your time is to get the result you want.
It’s also a very hard question to answer. It requires deep thought, which is hard. But if you can get this question to be a habit in your life, you will find that it makes reaching goals much easier.
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