Psychology Says If You Can Master These 13 Skills, You'll Have Incredible Focus & Discipline
Cut the junk and focus on what matters.
Agustin Farias | Unsplash In a world obsessed with multitasking and endless to-do lists, it’s easy to feel pulled in every direction, striving to do more but accomplishing less. Productivity has become a buzzword, yet many of us feel stuck, scattered, and unfulfilled.
When I read The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller in 2016, it felt like dropping a 10-kilogram bag of rice I’d been carrying around for years. This book cuts through the noise and provides an effective approach to creating results. The premise is simple: success isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right thing — and if you can master these skills, you'll achieve unparalleled focus and discipline.
If you can master these skills, you'll achieve incredible focus and discipline:
1. Ask yourself the focusing question
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The centerpiece of the book is the ‘focusing question’:
“What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
I ask this question all the time for specific situations and challenges. The question helps you cut through distractions and identify the highest-impact action you should take.
Regularly ask yourself the focusing question for any life area to direct your energy toward what matters most.
2. Understand that success is sequential, not simultaneous
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Keller argues that success doesn’t come from doing everything at once but from building momentum by mastering one thing at a time. I like his take.
Focus on achieving small wins in a specific order. Tackle one priority, then move to the next so that progress compounds over time.
Focusing on achieving small wins significantly boosts motivation and confidence by triggering the brain's reward system, releasing dopamine, and reinforcing positive behaviors.
This ultimately leads to more tremendous success in reaching larger goals. Research from Harvard Business School found that individuals who tracked their small daily achievements reported increased motivation and a greater sense of accomplishment.
3. Prioritize with the 80/20 rule
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The Pareto Principle states that 80% of results come from 20% of your actions. The key to productivity is identifying and focusing on the 20% that truly matters.
Audit your to-do list and focus on the tasks with the biggest impact while letting go of less critical activities. This is a continual practice.
4. Give up multitasking
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Multitasking divides your attention, reduces the quality of your work, and turns you into a frazzled chicken.
Multitasking is mainly ineffective. The human brain is not designed to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Instead, it rapidly switches between them, decreasing productivity, increased errors, and cognitive strain.
A 2019 study found that multitasking is more like task switching, which incurs a switch cost each time you change focus between tasks. Each time you switch between tasks, there is a "switch cost" — a period where your brain is reorienting itself, resulting in slower processing and potential errors.
True focus requires doing one thing at a time. Create blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on your most important task and minimize distractions.
5. Utilize the domino effect
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Small, focused actions create a domino effect, leading to massive outcomes over time. You may not see the impact now, but you will later.
Start with the smallest, most manageable task contributing to your bigger goal. Identify your first ‘domino’ and commit to toppling it. Consistency in small actions leads to extraordinary results.
6. Practice time-blocking
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Time blocking is the practice of dedicating specific hours of your day to work on your most important task.
Time blocking is an effective productivity technique that leverages cognitive principles to enhance focus and reduce decision fatigue. Dedicating specific blocks of time to particular tasks minimizes the need to constantly choose what to work on next, ultimately leading to better concentration and efficiency.
2021 research showed that time-blocking individuals report increased productivity, reduced stress, and greater control over their workload. The key benefit is reduced mental switching costs associated with multitasking, achieved by promoting single-tasking behavior.
Schedule uninterrupted time for your one thing each day, treating it like an appointment you cannot miss.
7. Protect your time
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Distractions and interruptions are productivity harmers best left for normies. Keller emphasizes creating boundaries to protect your focus time.
Set clear rules about when and how you can be interrupted. Use tools on your iPhone like ‘Do Not Disturb' mode and communicate your focus times to others for that extra accountability.
8. Know that willpower is finite
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Willpower is like a muscle. It weakens with use throughout the day. Roy Baumeister's ego depletion theory suggests that willpower is a limited resource.
A study published by the British Psychological Society found that once used up through self-control, it becomes depleted, making it harder to exert further willpower on subsequent tasks.
The key is to tackle your most important task when your willpower is strongest earlier in the day.
Do your one thing first thing in the morning when your energy and discipline peak.
9. Align your daily actions with a bigger purpose
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Staying focused becomes far easier when your daily actions align with a bigger purpose. Clarity about your goals fuels motivation and direction.
Reflect on your long-term goals and use them to guide your priorities. Ask yourself how today’s one thing contributes to your purpose.
10. Realize that the idea of a balanced life is a myth
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Balance may not be the ideal approach, depending on what phase you’re in. Keller argues that achieving balance across all areas of life is unrealistic.
The idea of a balanced life is a myth. Research from 2017 argues that life is inherently dynamic and unpredictable, making it impossible to distribute time and energy equally across all aspects.
Instead, a more realistic approach focuses on managing priorities and adapting to changing circumstances rather than striving for a static equilibrium between work, relationships, health, and personal pursuits. Instead, success requires embracing imbalance by giving disproportionate focus to your most important area.
Accept that achieving extraordinary results requires temporarily neglecting less critical areas to concentrate on your priority. Don’t guilt yourself for this. It’s part of the process.
11. Get used to saying no to everything that doesn’t matter
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Every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else. This blew my mind.
The ability to say no to distractions is crucial for focusing on your one thing. Learn to say no gracefully and unapologetically to protect your time and energy.
12. Free yourself of a cluttered workplace
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Your surroundings significantly impact your ability to focus. Research published in 2022 indicates that the environment significantly impacts productivity.
Factors like natural light, temperature, clutter, and the presence of plants can positively or negatively influence focus, performance, and overall cognitive function in a workspace.
A cluttered workspace or distracting environment can derail progress.
Optimize your physical and digital environment for focus by removing distractions and organizing tools to support your one thing.
13. Think big, act small
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The authors stress that achieving extraordinary success requires thinking big but starting small. I love this.
It’s about aligning daily actions with your long-term vision but making that vision big and interesting.
Set ambitious goals, but break them down into small, actionable steps you can tackle each day. You got this.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient. He's the author of the Mastery Den newsletter, which helps people triple their productivity.