Focusing on One Thing & Backing Yourself Into a Corner (Geeta Nadkarni & Randy Gage’s Wisdom)

What’s Your One Thing?

Remember Geeta Nadkarni from Chapter 2, the Mountaintop Mindset? I met her when she was speaking at the 2015 National Speakers Association conference. She has some powerful thoughts on managing your time that act as the perfect summary of some of the best points in this chapter:

When managing your time, ask: what are the most essential pieces to the puzzle of what you’re trying to accomplish? Instead of having thirty things on my list, I’ll have ONE thing on my list. It’s not easy to do, but when you apply this, you’ll be able to get the vital few one or two tasks done each day. When I take on too much, I become overwhelmed, and my decision-making becomes poorer, so how you manage your time affects every aspect of your life.

Geeta went on to tell me that she hired someone who is more structure-oriented than she is (Geeta is creative-oriented). Geeta will do the brainstorming and then have her partner give her ONE task to do; she’s then not allowed to touch anything until she gets that one thing done.

“Then I feel good,” Geeta said, “and can reward myself along the way. The truth is there’s often only ONE thing you need to do when the tendency is to think everything is important.”

Geeta is a huge success and, like John Lee Dumas and Rick Woods, her insights make sense. She just described a powerful tactic: collaborate with people who have strengths in your areas of weakness. Focus on your strengths. Develop areas you are not strong in. And get help from people who know more than you do about a certain skill or topic.

Back Yourself Into a Corner

If you are still finding a hard time getting started or effectively managing your time with all that you have to do, try doing what prosperity expert and successful author Randy Gage suggests: back yourself into a corner.

“When I know I have to get a big project done, but I’m putting it off, I’ll back myself into a corner by not only setting up a deadline but getting other people to rely and count on that deadline,” Randy said. “When I know that other people are counting on me, even when I don’t want or feel like working on it, I’ll kick into gear and get the project done.”

You don’t want to overpromise anything to anyone, so find the balance that works for you and apply this strategy when appropriate. With that said, this can be incredibly effective when used appropriately. If you are still finding yourself stuck, back yourself into a corner and force yourself to make progress on the task at hand.

It’s an Ongoing Process

The improvement of your time management is an ongoing process and will improve as you grow as a leader. Some days will be wonderful, and you will feel like you’re in the flow. Other days, your energy levels will dip, and you will struggle to focus and get things done. The important thing is not to get caught up on any particular good or bad day, but to simply keep marching forward and making progress.

There are entire books devoted to time management because it’s an important subject. I knew this topic was crucial to share with you because it will enable you to navigate the hectic demands and stressors of life better while you overcome obstacles and revolutionize your life. I’ve been studying time management for years and have done several seminars on it – what I did here is consolidate the best and most powerful aspects of time management into one chapter by featuring some of the world’s top experts on the subject.

Don’t try to change everything at once. Take one tip from this chapter and begin today.

Questions for Reflection

1. What are some bottlenecks in your schedule and time? How can you reduce these obstacles?
2. What are some activities or commitments you have a false sense of obligation toward? If they aren’t the best use of your time, how can you respectfully transition out of these commitments?
3. What one project or task would, upon completion, fill you with the greatest sense of meaning, purpose, and power?

This is the ending part to Chapter 7 of the award-winning book Reach Your Mountaintop: 10 Keys to Finding the Hidden Opportunity in Your Setbacks, Flipping What You’ve Heard on Its Head, and Achieving Legendary Goals.