The day before yesterday, I asked for a simplified version of the focusing question from The One Thing, recommended by MJ DeMarco.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t fully understood by everyone, judging from the comments. But I really admired how they answered me !
What I was looking for was a simpler mental version of the original question.
The original phrasing is:
“What’s the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Today, I spent about an hour working on it to find a reduced formulation that retains all its effectiveness.
Here is my version:
“What’s the one possible thing that simplifies the most everything else?”
Definition:
Here, “simplifies” means both making things easier (easier) and eliminating what’s unnecessary (unnecessary).
“The most” specifies that, among all possible actions, this is the one with the maximum leverage — the single action with the greatest impact.
Structure analysis compared to the original:
Merged selection and feasibility → “one possible thing” combines What’s the ONE thing + I can do.
Causality and leverage → “that simplifies” expresses the effect and includes both ease and elimination.
Maximum impact → “the most everything else” emphasizes that this action is the most decisive among all options.
The reduced version keeps the original essence while being shorter, clearer, and mentally practical. I'm waiting for your thoughts !
Unfortunately, I wasn’t fully understood by everyone, judging from the comments. But I really admired how they answered me !
What I was looking for was a simpler mental version of the original question.
The original phrasing is:
“What’s the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Today, I spent about an hour working on it to find a reduced formulation that retains all its effectiveness.
Here is my version:
“What’s the one possible thing that simplifies the most everything else?”
Definition:
Here, “simplifies” means both making things easier (easier) and eliminating what’s unnecessary (unnecessary).
“The most” specifies that, among all possible actions, this is the one with the maximum leverage — the single action with the greatest impact.
Structure analysis compared to the original:
Merged selection and feasibility → “one possible thing” combines What’s the ONE thing + I can do.
Causality and leverage → “that simplifies” expresses the effect and includes both ease and elimination.
Maximum impact → “the most everything else” emphasizes that this action is the most decisive among all options.
The reduced version keeps the original essence while being shorter, clearer, and mentally practical. I'm waiting for your thoughts !
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