The Life-Changing Power of “Just One Thing”

What Does “Just One Thing” Mean?

Ever feel like your to-do list is a mile long? Does doing several thing at once feel like the only way you’ll be able to accomplish everything? I know I have. I’ve also fallen prey to the myth that we can successfully multitask in order to be more productive. Unfortunately, that concept is just that…a myth. In fact, we can lose up to 40% of our productive time from switching between tasks. That’s where doing ‘just one thing’ comes in to actually help us be more productive and less error-prone.

I now preach the power of ‘just one thing’. After experimenting with it myself, I turned it into my own personal mantra. It starting with me telling myself that I should do ‘just one thing’ around the house. That could be to clean, organize, etc. even when I wasn’t feeling super motivated. It could be as small as sorting the mail and putting it where it belongs. But my brain wanted to do ALL the things I felt I “should” be doing. So naturally, I wanted to figure out why our brains act this way and how we can rewire them

The Myth of Multitasking

We’ve been programmed to think that we can successfully multitask, even when that’s been proven to be a fallacy. You see, when we’re focused, our prefrontal cortex is activated. Within that part of our brain exists two sides – the left and the right. While focusing on one task, they work in tandem. When we’re trying to multitask and switch between things, they have to function independently. The time it takes to switch might be miniscule on its own, but it adds up. This is why we feel frustrated that we aren’t checking off our to-do list as quickly as we think we should.

If you haven’t heard, glucose is brainfood (which is why you may feel grumpy, foggy, etc. on keto). Trying to switch between tasks eats it up at a faster rate than focusing on one thing at a time. This is what can make you feel exhausted after trying to multitask. To make matters worse, some new studies have found that chronic multitasking can actually change the physical makeup of the brain. New research is finding that people who multitask constantly have less grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the part of the brain that helps to regulate physical functions like heart rate and blood pressure. Cognitive functions like emotional regulation, impulse control, decision making, and empathy are also influenced by it.

Not just that, but it causes information to be stored in the wrong part of the brain. This effectively reduces short-term memory. This is why we’re more prone to errors when trying to multitask.

The Benefits of Single-tasking or Doing “Just One Thing”

So how do we combat this and actually become more productive? Well, we do the thing that we feel with contradict that. We do ‘just one thing’. To me, and what I teach to my clients is that doing ‘just one thing’ actually means two things.

• First: It means to go through your to-do list (physical or mental) and settle on doing JUST ONE THING. This helps to relieve overwhelm because all you are committing to is a singular task. Doing just one thing on you list isn’t so scary, right?
• Second: Focus on that one thing and ONLY that thing for a set period of time

But how can doing just one thing benefit you?

• Improved Focus: Focus is like a muscle that gets stronger over time. Focusing on one task at a time can gradually help you improve this
• Better Ability to Prioritize: Getting out of the habit of doing several tasks at once forces us to really decide what is important and what can wait
• More Mindfulness: When we’re thinking about one task in a moment, it’s actually a practice in mindfulness. This is especially true if you bring yourself back to the task at hand when you find your mind wandering

Single-tasking can improve multiple areas of you life without you even realizing it. Your productivity, health, and personal development can all benefit from nixing the multitasking habit and focusing on just one thing

Single-tasking for Productivity

Productivity is probably the first thought we have when considering this topic. There are different methods to make this practice a reality and different ones will work for different people. Try experimenting with some to find what works best for you so you can decide how best to focus on just one thing.

• Time Blocking: Time blocking is where you set aside a specific time for a specific task. This helps get our brains out of panic mode because we’ve already determined that a certain chunk of time will be well spent on a specific task. Work with your energy levels and other responsibilities so that you can block out time for tasks when it’s most practical to do them
• Prioritize: Take a minute to group your tasks into categories like “Need to do”, “Should do”, “Could do”, and “Want to do” can help you decide which to tackle first. Another way is to determine what would take the most to least time/energy (or the other way around) if that works better with your way of working.
• Minimize Distractions: This can be tough. We’re surrounded by distractions in most places. Whether it’s coworkers interrupting, kids, pets, environmental noise, or our ever present tech – learning how to minimize them can help drastically. This might mean putting your phone into “do not disturb” mode, going to a library, or even placing a sign on your door/computer stating you are in ‘focus mode’ and to not disturb
• Pomo Timing: The concept of a pomo timert is to commit to a task for a predetermined amount of time with the promise of a set break afterwards. This is been my personal favorite for years now. I tell myself that I can commit to 20-25 minutes of work since it’s not that long. If you want to know more about what I personally use for this, check out my post on my top apps!

Single-tasking for Health

When we attempt to multi-task, we think we’re doing something good and productive and that it will make us feel great to knock so many things off our todo list…right? In fact, this approach can make us feel more mentally exhausted, overwhelmed, unfocused, and forgetful. Add all of that to your every growing todo list and you’ve got a recipe for lots of stress.

By focusing on just one thing at a time, you’ll be able to actually get more done, do so more efficiently, and reduce your stress. This is due in part to that lovely dopamine rush that leaves you feeling more motivated and satisfied. This can also enhance your ability to practice mindfulness which in turn aids in the feeling of well-being and inner peace.

Single-tasking isn’t just good for your mental health! It’s also good for your physical health. Remember earlier when I said that trying to multitask results in less grey matter in the part of your brain that helps to regulate heart rate and blood pressure? Well, single-tasking can help prevent that. This means that actually focusing can help to regulate those aspects of your health as well.

• Explore the link between single-tasking and improved mental and physical health.
• Discuss how reducing mental clutter and stress through single-tasking can benefit overall well-being.
• Keyword: mental health, stress reduction, well-being
• Image idea: Person practicing mindfulness or yoga in a serene natural setting, emphasizing mental clarity.

Single-tasking for Personal Development

The usefulness of single-tasking isn’t limited to just crushing your to-do list. In fact, I’ve found that it’s really beneficial for personal development endeavors too.

Imagine that you have something you are aspiring towards. Maybe it’s learning a new skill, spending time in meditation, or practicing your craft. Whatever it may be, think about how often you get to actually do that in addition to all the other things you need to accomplish in a day. I’m going to bet that those self growth tasks are largely ignored for the sake of only having a limited amount of time. Considering that we can waste up to 40% of the time meant for being productive on switching tasks while ‘multi-tasking’, that’s 40% more time you could have back if you focus on just one thing at a time.

Working to put your energy into being more efficient can end up being more fulfilling. Single-tasking can afford you more time to work on things that really matter to you. So crush those goals and instead of doom scrolling with your newfound time – try a new hobby!

Overcoming Challenges and Resistance to Doing Just One Thing

I completely understand that it’s hard to switch our brains into focus mode. We’ve been programmed to think that we can be more efficient if we multitask. The concept of doing just one thing is honestly very foreign to our burnout society. Having a ‘monkey mind’ is a term you may be familiar with if you’ve studied meditation. Our brains usually have around 60,000 thoughts per day. It’s no wonder why we struggle to do just one thing at a time! There are a few strategies that you can use with single-tasking

• Practice Makes Progress: Remember that this may be a new skill for you. Practice a little each day with short pomos or time blocks, or only ‘commit’ to a set number of tasks to focus on. Your abilities will improve the more you put forth the honest effort to try
• Create a Routine: Routines help to program our internal clocks to expect a certain activity at a specific time. If it’s possible, commit to doing a task at the same time every day and notice how it starts to become second nature
• If Plan A Doesn’t Work: Don’t forget that there are 25 other letters in the alphabet! One technique won’t work for everyone so try different ones until you come up with something that works for you
• Be Compassionate: Give yourself some grace in learning how to switch your standard mode of operating. It takes time, practice, and patience. Don’t shoot for perfection and be gentle with yourself. Tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity to try again

Conclusion

Multi-tasking sounds appealing and we all think we can do it. In reality, however, it’s doing more harm than good. Shifting our focusing from doing ‘all the things, all the time’ to ‘just one thing’ can help improve our physical and mental health as well as improving our ability to grow and develop. Using techniques like prioritizing, time blocking, and pomo timers, we can gain momentum by doing just one thing from our list at a time.