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Surrounding Yourself with Relentless Focus.
A few years back, I was running a 2-day workshop at St. Peter’s Cricket Club, in Sydney Park, Alexandria.
The lead-up to the session had been a bloody nightmare. I’d been sick for days before and was dosed up to the nines. I’d rocked up at the venue only to discover it had absolutely no A/v equipment, then accidentally locked myself out of the room and had to wait an hour in the cold to be let back in.
On the positive side, things only got better.
As was tradition, we wrapped up the final part of the two days setting plans for the next period between workshops.
But as we wrapped up, I something didn’t feel quite right.
In the months preceding the workshop, I had read “The One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan and it had fundamentally shifted my perspective on productivity and focus.
It challenged the whole idea of multitasking and instead emphasized the power of narrowing down to ONE thing that truly matters.
I presented the insights from the book during the workshop, sharing how I’d implemented them for myself and the (very positive) results.
But in that moment, as I began to ask participants to list which three projects they’d undertake in the quarter, I knew that, as usual, the most likely outcome would be:
- one project would get completed well,
- another would be 80% there,
- and the third would likely remain untouched.
Standing next to a flip chart cluttered with notes, I looked at everyone and said, “Forget the top three projects. Just focus on one.”
The room fell silent. It was a huge shift. But the results were transformative.
One of the attendees, Mark, had always struggled with juggling multiple projects.
He took this new approach like a duck to water.
By focusing solely on revamping his client onboarding process, he not only completed it within the quarter but also managed to implement the changes and see tangible results immediately. He saw better results sooner.
And what’s more, he felt a sense of accomplishment that had been missing for a while.
Having finished the first what did he do?
Started his “reserve” project, which also got done.
He then started on the next in line, by which time the next workshop rolled around.
Why does this work?
Research shows that multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%. Our brains aren’t wired to handle multiple complex tasks simultaneously. By focusing on one project at a time, we eliminate the inefficiencies that come with switching tasks.
Relentless focus is a game-changer. It might feel counterintuitive, especially in our world of multitasking, but it’s incredibly powerful.
Try it. Pick one project that will have the most impact on your business. Focus on it like a laser.
Because progress rarely comes from doing more.
It comes from doing what truly matters.
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