Achieving extraordinary results isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what truly matters.

In The One Thing, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan lay out a powerful principle: your ability to focus on the most important thing every day is what drives remarkable outcomes.

The Focusing Question:

“What’s the ONE thing you can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

This question forces you to cut through distractions and hone in on what really moves the needle. From a strategic standpoint, it’s about starting each day with the mindset to deliver at least one key result that brings you closer to your long-term vision.

From Distraction to Intention

Let’s take a real-world example: Imagine you’re leading a team of engineers working on a complex software project. Without a focused intention, your daily stand-up might sound like this:

"I’m working on feature XYZ; it’ll probably take about a week."

The problem? That vague update leaves room for uncertainty, external distractions, and drifting priorities. What happens when a meeting runs long, or an unexpected issue arises? The plan slips, and progress stalls.

But now imagine approaching that same stand-up with a specific focus on the most important result for that day:

"I’m focused on getting the ABC function working and deployed to our staging environment by the end of today."

That shift in mindset transforms the conversation. You’re no longer talking about a distant goal—you’re locking in on today’s priority, setting yourself and your team on a clear path to success. This daily focus on the next crucial action compounds over time, creating unstoppable momentum.

The Power of Compounding Action

Just like a row of dominoes, each day’s action builds on the last. Aligning your focus on the right task today makes tomorrow’s task easier, propelling you forward toward your bigger vision.

The focusing question isn’t just about getting through your to-do list; it’s about making strategic progress every day. It’s about asking yourself, “What’s the ONE thing I can do today that will have the greatest impact?”

Results Happen One Day at a Time

Extraordinary outcomes don’t happen overnight—they are the result of consistent, focused effort.

When you apply the focusing question to your daily routine, you align your actions with your long-term goals. You stop spinning your wheels on things that don’t matter and start accelerating toward what does.

So, ask yourself: What’s the ONE thing you can do today that will bring you closer to your biggest goal?

Focus on that. Then do it again tomorrow.