The ONE Thing
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan on the one priority that makes everything else easier
A 2013 business book built around one question: what is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else becomes easier or unnecessary? Keller and Papasan argue that multitasking is a myth, that willpower runs down over the day, and that most goals are lost to a long to-do list rather than to a lack of effort. The practical core is time blocking for the single priority and saying no to nearly everything else. It is often the book people cite when they decide to stop trying to be good at several things at once.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Chris BumsteadRecommends
Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
He talked about this book with Jordan Peterson in 2024. Its argument, that reaching the top one percent at anything means focusing on that one thing, helped him see that wearing too many hats had cost him on stage, he said, and that bodybuilding would eventually have to give way to being a father.
Source: Fitness Volt: Chris Bumstead Discusses Diet, Reaffirms Retirement Stance
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under productivity or focus.
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Deep Work
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Backed by 5 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 5 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's 1990 study of total absorption and what makes it happen
Backed by 2 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life
Penguin Press
Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2023 book on vision, work, failure and giving back
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The 5 Second Rule
Mel Robbins's first book, on the countdown that gets you moving
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Kahneman's map of the two systems behind your judgments
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 0 recommend it, 1 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily reading
A fixed daily reading block, usually books rather than feeds
Backed by 19 of 44 stacks: 17 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Book entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.