[Book Notes] The One Thing

Goal Setting

Use goal setting backward from a someday goal: five-year goal, one-year goal, monthly goal, weekly goal, daily goal, right now.

The research and experience of others is the best place to start when looking for your answer. Because the answer will be original, you'll probably have to reinvent yourself to implement it. Push your thinking to be bigger.

I time-blocked planning for vacation. Aim for 66 days of habit building. Aim to allocate one hour for routines and four hours for the one thing. Time-block daily planning. Time-block the big thing and protect it.

Avoid

• Everything matters equally.
• A disjointed life.
• A balanced life.
• Multitasking.
• Willpower as a crutch.
• Big goals alone.

Four Thieves

• Inability to say no.
• Fear of chaos.
• Poor health habits.
• An environment that kills productivity.

Three Commitments

1. Follow the path of mastery. Put in the time to look hard.
2. Move from E to P. Do it the best way, not just your best way.
3. Live in the accountability cycle. Send progress reports to those who want you to win.

Apply an extreme Pareto approach to actions. The central question:

What's the ONE THING I can do such that by doing it everything else will become easier or unnecessary?

Sequence the one things. You can't hedge your bets. You're allowed one thing, or only a few things. Build a "$2 billion dollar time system." You already have it. The book points to a disciplined approach to time.

Five Most Common Regrets

• I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
• I wish I'd let myself be happier.
• I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
• I wish I'd stayed in touch with my friends.
• I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

Put yourself together and everything will fall into place.

— Jay