Focus All of Your Energy on 'The One Thing'; Everything Else is a Distraction
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Focus All of Your Energy on 'The One Thing'; Everything Else is a Distraction
A super powerful productivity hack for artists and creatives...
Artists often ask me what it is they should be focusing on and the majority of the time I find that they're putting their time and energy into the future, instead of focusing on what it is they need to do today to actually get there.
I’ve got a very simple one sentence statement I say to all of them, which is the title of this post.
The concept of focusing all of your energy on 'the one thing' is a powerful tool that can help an artist make real progress in their career.
It's about recognizing that to achieve success in the future, you need to focus your efforts on one thing today, and commit to it, rather than dividing your energy across different tasks.
"Focus all of your energy on 'the one thing'; everything else is a distraction".
This single sentence is both simple and incredibly powerful.
When I say these words to artists, it's rare for them to fully comprehend what they mean.
If as an artist, the 'one thing' you need to move to the next step is songs (almost all artists!), then the sentence looks like this:
'Focus all of your energy on the songs only, everything else is a distraction.'
In less than fifteen words, you have instructions that if you follow will change the game for you, I believe this so much, that I want to spell it out in more detail.
The keywords are:
"Focus": Focus is a mental state of intense concentration and attention towards a single object or activity.
It is the ability to narrow down the amount of mental energy being used to focus on one thing at a time, blocking out any external noise or distractions to achieve total awareness, clarity, and understanding.
The capacity for focus means that you can create an environment of productivity and achievement.
"All": The whole quantity of a particular thing.
When used as a noun, it means the whole of one's energy or interest. 'Giving their all for what they believed'.
"Everything": Everything is an all-encompassing term that refers to all existing things or entities, both seen and unseen.
It encompasses the entire universe and everything in it, from the smallest particle to the largest galaxy.
It also includes concepts such as time, space, energy, matter, events, ideas and emotions.
"Distraction": Distraction is the act of diverting one's attention from the task at hand to something else.
This can be anything from a physical object, sound or activity to a mental phenomenon such as worrying about something or daydreaming.
When attention is diverted away from the main focus, productivity and efficiency suffer, and it becomes difficult to get back on track.
In breaking down the word definitions in this way, it becomes very clear how important it is to make it a priority to focus on the one thing that you need to do today, to support the big goal that you are striving towards.
If your one thing is 'songs' then, doing anything else whatsoever that doesn't contribute towards you getting them, is a distraction from the 'one thing' that will move you towards the next step in your progression.
You can change the 'one thing', depending on which step in your progression you're in e.g. songs, recordings, content creation, strategic planning, marketing planning, etc.
Adopting this simple approach to everything you do, is one of the most incredible productivity hacks you can integrate into the way you live.
When you are focused, your mind can better process information, enabling you to think more clearly and come up with creative solutions to any problems you may encounter.
Having a single focus means that you can hone in on the task at hand, allowing you to make faster progress toward your goal.
It also helps to prevent you from getting distracted by other tasks or activities which may seem interesting but will not help you reach your desired outcome.
Identifying your 'one thing' is a very individual process as it will vary from artist to artist, depending on your current goals and career objectives.
It requires taking time for honest reflection and making sure that you have a realistic goal in mind.
To identify the 'one thing' that you need to focus on today (or the sequence of 'one thing(s)'), start by outlining the main goal you want to achieve within a certain time-frame.
Once you have this overall goal written down, you can start breaking it down into smaller tasks and prioritize which one needs to be completed first.
The first task to be completed as the initial step towards your bigger goal becomes your 'one thing'.
This way, you'll have a clear starting point for what is going to make the biggest impact on your career.
Tuning Out the Noise To Achieve the 'One Thing'
Once you have identified your 'one thing', the important part is then to stick to it and focus all of your energy on that one thing.
This means that everything else you do has to fit into the context of achieving this goal, or else it is a distraction.
It's easy to get sidetracked by tasks or ideas that seem urgent but don't necessarily bring you closer to your ultimate goal.
It helps to ask yourself several times during the day: "Is this (action) I am doing right now supporting the 'one thing' I want to achieve?".
This is a useful exercise to keep you on track.
Focusing all of your energy on 'the one thing' helps ensure that the most important task is always being worked on and makes it more likely to be completed promptly.
Additionally, focusing your energy on 'the one thing' helps you to block out distractions and stay focused on the task at hand.
It's easy for other tasks or ideas to derail your progress, so having a clear focus can help ensure that you stick with the plan and achieve success.
To conclude, reminding yourself of this one sentence - "Focus all of your energy on 'the one thing'; everything else is a distraction". - every day will help you get to and stay in a place where the only way ahead for you is upwards.
Missed my first and most important article? here’s the link to it:
Focus All of Your Energy on 'The One Thing'; Everything Else is a Distraction
Great article. I needed to hear this!