Single Scoop
“The shorter way to do many things is to only do one thing at a time” — Mozart
This writing is Certified Human
The Obstacle
We find ourselves behind.
Things stack up. Pressure builds. Life becomes busier than we can handle.
It comes in waves.
Sometimes it’s busier and more difficult than others.
When the tasks, projects, and obligations pile up, we can get overwhelmed. We become distracted, confused about which order to do things, fragmented, trying to multitask, and find ourselves behind and frustrated.
When we try to do too much at once or carry too heavy a load, we don’t perform anything as well as we could.
Our ability to execute suffers, and we don’t work as efficiently as we could because we are not focused.
The people around us suffer too because when we’re stressed, it’s not easy to maintain good relationships, patience, presence, curiosity, and understanding.
It’s hard to eat more than one scoop at a time.
The Gift And Opportunity
Intuitively, we know we can only do one thing at a time.
Yet when pressure builds, we try to do too much at once and end up doing nothing particularly well.
We can chunk things down, make them manageable, and put all of our time and energy into a single task, execute that well, and then move on.
When we’re not distracted with what’s behind us or ahead of us, we can simply focus on what’s in front of us.
If we’re able to do this, we can execute that task, project, conversation, or obstacle with precision, efficiency, and better performance.
It’s easy to get distracted, to jump from one thing to the next.
But if we can catch ourselves and refocus, we’ll have a better chance of catching up and getting our heads above water.
It’s easiest to eat one scoop at a time without choking.
The Practice Of Self-Mastery
• Notice the overwhelm
• Chunk it down
• Focus on one task
• Execute and move on
CHEAT CODE: NOTICE → CHUNK IT DOWN → FOCUS ON ONE TASK → EXECUTE → MOVE ON
The Why
This week, I was feeling distracted.
There was a lot on the calendar and many things I wanted to accomplish.
I was off of my normal routine because of my shoulder injury.
It seemed to be a perfect storm to throw me off balance.
I found myself slipping back into old habits, quickly moving from one task or project to another, from one conversation to the next, flipping through browser tabs, checking social media, email, and text messages at random times.
It was a distraction and a way to avoid what needed to be done because what needed to be done felt overwhelming, like there was just too much.
I had to constantly remind myself of what was important, what was worth doing now, and what was worth putting all of my attention into, rather than jumping around from one thing to the next.
When I was able to do this, I was able to knock tasks out in quick order with precision and efficiency.
I was also able to not be frustrated or rush past conversations with friends, children, or loved ones.
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