{"id":38663,"date":"2021-06-10T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=38663"},"modified":"2021-08-14T13:00:29","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T17:00:29","slug":"focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Single Tasking: Focus on One Thing at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Why do people say to &#8220;focus on one thing at a time&#8221;? How does working on just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing\/\">one thing at a time<\/a> affect your performance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to management consultant Peter Drucker, when you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time-2\/\">focus on one thing at a time<\/a>, your work is both better and faster. This applies both to individual and organizational performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is why you should choose one thing to focus on and give it your all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Case for Single Tasking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Drucker argues that the ability to focus on one thing at a time is central to performance because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>When you focus on one thing at a time, you actually get more done because you get each thing done faster. You also do better work, which strengthens your contribution to organizational performance. (Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/quiet-the-power-of-introverts\"><em>Quiet<\/em><\/a>, Susan Cain notes that focusing may be easier for introverts than for extroverts, because introverts\u2019 preferred <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-work-style\/\">work style<\/a> is to work methodically on one task at a time and concentrate deeply.)<\/li><li>You can\u2019t do more than one thing at a time well. (Shortform note: Drucker was ahead of the research in realizing that multitasking yields poor results. We\u2019ll discuss the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/multitasking-myth\/\">myth of multitasking<\/a> later in this section.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-4-hour-workweek\/part-2\"><em>The 4-Hour Workweek<\/em><\/a>, Tim Ferriss echoes Drucker\u2019s ideas of focusing: Instead of being so busy that you have to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-manage-time-efficiently\/\">manage your time<\/a>, he argues for reducing the number of things you have to do as well as decreasing the amount of time you spend on them. To get more done, he says, do less.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drucker notes that the principle of focus applies to company as well as individual performance: Companies that try to do too many disparate things don\u2019t excel at anything and therefore fail to differentiate themselves. (Shortform note: Companies can apply focus in two ways: <a href=\"https:\/\/firstunionlending.com\/is-it-better-to-focus-on-the-market-or-the-product\/\">product focus and\/or market focus<\/a>. For example, Apple focuses on producing superior products, while Microsoft is market-focused, bent on discovering and delivering on customer wants and needs.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another company pitfall is focusing on preserving legacy products while failing to devote resources to developing products that will sustain the business in the future. Drucker recommends regularly asking, \u201cIf we weren\u2019t already doing this, would it make any sense to start doing it?\u201d If the answer is \u201cno,\u201d drop the activity or product. (Shortform note: Besides Drucker\u2019s question, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pragmaticinstitute.com\/resources\/articles\/product\/sunsetting-a-product\/\">considerations for eliminating a legacy product include<\/a> cost versus revenue, and the number of customers impacted and their <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/how-to-calculate-customer-lifetime-value\">lifetime value<\/a> (how much revenue that customer will generate for the business for the entirety of the business relationship).)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>How to Focus<\/strong><br><br>While Drucker emphasizes the need for and value of focusing, he doesn\u2019t discuss <em>how<\/em> to focus beyond simply scheduling \u201calone\u201d time. However, later authors discuss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-achieve\/\">how to achieve<\/a> focus or do deep (focused) work. Here are several approaches:<br><br>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/deep-work\/rule-2\"><em>Deep Work<\/em><\/a>, Cal Newport argues that you must <strong>strengthen your ability to focus by working it like a muscle<\/strong>. He says that after practicing four steps daily for a few months, you\u2019ll increase your ability to do deep work, and raise your level of concentration: Schedule when you\u2019ll use the Internet. Avoid it completely outside these times. Set tight deadlines for yourself that require you to concentrate at the limit of your ability to make the deadlines. (Estimate how much time you\u2019d ordinarily need for the task, cut that time down drastically, and set it as your deadline.)Practice productive meditation\u2014think about a problem while you do a low-intensity physical activity, like walking or showering.<br><br>In Indistractable, Nir Eyal contends that the key to being able to focus is becoming \u201cindistractable\u201d or resistant to distractions through a four-step method: Control your internal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/external-triggers\/\">distraction triggers<\/a>. Build your schedule around your values (so you\u2019re doing what\u2019s important to you rather than reacting to whatever comes up). Reduce external distraction triggers. Create precommitments or pledges you make in advance for how you\u2019ll respond when tempted by a distraction.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Multitasking<\/strong><br><br>The opposite of focus is multitasking, which Drucker recognized as unproductive. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gary-w-keller\/\">Gary Keller<\/a> writes in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-one-thing\/chapter-5\"><em>The One Thing<\/em><\/a> that people actually <em>can<\/em> do two things at once\u2014for instance, walk and talk. But like computers, we alternate our focus. A conflict occurs when a new activity requires a brain channel already in use or when one task demands greater attention\u2014for example when you\u2019re driving and start focusing on a text message instead of on the road.<br><br>Keller writes that the downsides of multitasking (besides car accidents) are: When you divide your limited brain capacity, you decrease your effectiveness. The more time you spend on a task you switched to, the less likely you are to resume your original task. When you bounce between activities, you lose time as your brain reorients. Multitasking skews your sense of how long it takes to do things and you overestimate the time required. Multitasking wastes time: Researchers estimate that employees are interrupted every 11 minutes and spend a third of their day recovering from interruptions. It also takes longer to do things. Depending on the complexity of the task, switching can add 25% to 100% more time to completing it. When you multitask, you make more mistakes and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-we-make-bad-decisions\/\">make bad decisions<\/a> because you favor new information over old, whether it\u2019s relevant or not. Multitasking creates stress.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Determine Priorities <\/strong><strong><em>and<\/em><\/strong><strong> Non-Priorities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you understand how to focus, the next step is deciding <em>which<\/em> productive tasks and opportunities you should focus on\u2014that is, which are your priority tasks (things you should focus on one at a time) and which are non-priorities (things you don\u2019t do).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While most people focus on determining priorities, Drucker contends that consciously deciding your <em>non-priorities<\/em> is equally important, because non-priorities tend to encroach on priorities unless you actively resist or eliminate them. <strong>Non-priorities are tasks you\u2019ve decided you won\u2019t do or opportunities you won\u2019t pursue<\/strong> now, if at all. These are activities that offer little or no significant long-term value, but they can be difficult to jettison if they\u2019re someone else\u2019s baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Non-Priorities<\/strong><br><br>Several authors, especially sales consultant and author Brian Tracy (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-that-frog\"><em>Eat That Frog<\/em><\/a>), have built on Drucker\u2019s idea of priorities and non-priorities. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.briantracy.com\/blog\/leadership-success\/the-law-of-posteriorities\/\">To determine what activities you can drop<\/a>, Tracy recommends these steps: List the work activities that take the most of your time. Ask yourself whether <em>you\u2019d<\/em> pay someone the equivalent of your salary to do each of them. If not, stop doing them\u2014delegate or eliminate them.<br><br>Jim Collins (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/good-to-great\"><em>Good to Great<\/em><\/a>), a Drucker disciple, recommends creating a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jimcollins.com\/article_topics\/articles\/best-new-years.html\">\u201cstop doing\u201d list<\/a> instead of an annual New Year\u2019s resolution list of things you will do, whether personal or professional. Similarly, Tim Ferriss (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-4-hour-workweek\"><em>The 4-Hour Workweek<\/em><\/a>) proposes a <a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/2007\/08\/16\/the-not-to-do-list-9-habits-to-stop-now\/\">\u201cnot-to-do\u201d list<\/a> of nine things to stop, such as not agreeing to meetings and calls that lack a specific agenda and end time and not spending time with low-profit, high-maintenance customers.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Priorities<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding priorities, Drucker says they\u2019re typically established in one of two ways: You actively decide something is a priority, or it gets pushed to the top of your list by external pressure. When pressure determines what gets your attention, the most important work\u2014which is working on the future\u2014won\u2019t get done. Because it\u2019s non-urgent, it\u2019s easily postponed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drucker doesn\u2019t give any specific advice on how to set priorities\u2014he says <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-set-priorities\/\">setting priorities<\/a> requires courage more than analysis<\/strong>. In his view, courage requires that you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-the-future-not-the-past\/\">Focus on the future<\/a> instead of the past, that is on innovation rather than legacy products, as noted above.<\/li><li><strong>Focus on opportunities, not problems<\/strong>. It&#8217;s more valuable to translate an opportunity into results for the future than to solve a current problem. (Shortform note: In a later <em>Harvard Business Review<\/em> article, Drucker wrote that while solving problems is necessary, only <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2004\/06\/what-makes-an-effective-executive\">exploiting <em>opportunities<\/em> produces results<\/a>. He returns to this idea in discussing practice #4, Building on strengths. We\u2019ll explore it further in that section.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Methods of Prioritizing<\/strong><br><br>Various authors offer specific advice on how to prioritize. In <em>Eat That Frog<\/em>, Brian Tracy proposes what he calls the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-that-frog\/chapter-6\">ABCDE method<\/a> for prioritizing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-to-do-list\/\">to-do list<\/a>. Write down everything you have to do for the next day. Then rank each item by marking it with an A, B, C, D, or E, as follows:A\u2014must-do: These tasks are very important. You must do them because not doing them will have serious negative consequences. For instance, an \u201cA\u201d task might be something your boss directed you to do.B\u2014should do: These are tasks that you should do, such as returning a non-critical call or email. They have much less dire consequences than \u201cA\u201d tasks\u2014for instance, someone may be unhappy if you don\u2019t do it.C\u2014would be nice to do: While it would be nice, it doesn\u2019t matter whether you do these tasks or not. Examples include having lunch with a coworker or phoning a friend. These tasks don\u2019t affect your work.D\u2014delegate: These are tasks you can delegate. You should delegate everything possible to create time to do your \u201cA\u201d tasks.E\u2014eliminate: Tasks you can eliminate include things that were important at one time but are no longer relevant, or they\u2019re unnecessary things that have become habits. Any time spent on them is time diverted from an \u201cA\u201d task.<br><br>In First Things First, Stephen R. Covey suggests categorizing activities in four quadrants: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/stephen-covey-4-quadrants\/\">Quadrant 1<\/a> activities are important and urgent\u2014for example, work deadlines. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/quadrant-2-7-habits\/\">Quadrant 2<\/a> activities are important but not urgent\u2014for example, personal development.\u00a0Quadrant 3 activities are urgent but not important\u2014for example, checking your work email on the weekend.\u00a0Quadrant 4 activities are neither urgent nor important\u2014for example, checking social media. You should spend most of your time on Quadrant 2 activities.<br><br>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/4-hour-work-week-book\/\">The 4-Hour Workweek<\/a>, Tim Ferriss advises prioritizing by following two principles: The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/80-20-law\/\">80\/20<\/a> rule or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-pareto-principle-2\/\">Pareto Principle<\/a>, which states that 80% of results come from 20% of effortParkinson\u2019s Law, which states that a task will take up as much time as you give it, and the more time you give it, the more important it will seem<br>Thus, you should only do the 20% of your tasks that give you the greatest return, and give yourself short deadlines for those tasks.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do people say to &#8220;focus on one thing at a time&#8221;? How does working on just one thing at a time affect your performance? According to management consultant Peter Drucker, when you focus on one thing at a time, your work is both better and faster. This applies both to individual and organizational performance. Here is why you should choose one thing to focus on and give it your all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,42,43],"tags":[382],"class_list":["post-38663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management","category-motivation","category-self-improvement","tag-the-effective-executive","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Single Tasking: Focus on One Thing at a Time - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When you focus on one thing at a time, your work is both better and faster. This applies both to individual and organizational performance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Single Tasking: Focus on One Thing at a Time\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you focus on one thing at a time, your work is both better and faster. This applies both to individual and organizational performance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-10T14:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-14T17:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/focus.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"993\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"642\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Single Tasking: Focus on One Thing at a Time\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-10T14:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-14T17:00:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\"},\"wordCount\":1719,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/focus.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Effective Executive\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Management\",\"Motivation\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\",\"name\":\"Single Tasking: Focus on One Thing at a Time - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/focus.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-10T14:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-14T17:00:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"When you focus on one thing at a time, your work is both better and faster. 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