Do one thing well. I remember the words like they were yesterday although they were spoken many years ago. Believe it or not, this mantra just might help you regain a vital part of your life that’s missing.

This phrase is especially powerful going into the New Year. This is a time of year when some people make all kinds of resolutions. They’re going to lose weight. They’re going to save more money and pay off debt. They’re going to use less social media. You know the list.

It’s not that we don’t try to do enough. The problem is we try to do too much.

To compound the problem, we only have a limited amount of time.

I was recently reminded of this when I started a new job. Faced with a new routine, I was trying to cram in a ton of activities before having to go into work later in the day. Guess what? In my opinion it doesn’t work. The end result is that I ended up doing a million and one different things but nothing very consequential.

It’s not just me. I think our phones and computers compound the problem. We have the potential to explore a million different avenues right at our fingertips. That being said, we usually end up on a wild goose chase…and if you haven’t already figured out, wild geese are impossible to catch.

Upon reflection, rather than having 5 different new years resolutions, what if you decided to make one or two healthy choices. I don’t know about you, but my recent screen time report on my iPhone was revealing. Apparently, I spend a lot more time on Facebook and texting than I realized. In my case, maybe it’s time to ditch the shortcut on my home screen or unplug completely. There are only 167 hours in a week and spending over ten hours doing one thing that is not impacting your life in a healthy way is too much in my opinion.

The apostle Paul knew something about this. He writes, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Philippians 3:13-16.

Here’s a book that got me thinking more in this direction this past year.

Author Matt Perman’s book is more than just a book about productivity. His book will help you achieve more focus this next year. A key question he emphasizes is “what’s best next?”.

That’s right! You’re one thing can change. For instance, after pursuing one direction, you may find that it is best to pursue a different one. Buy the book! You’ll be glad you did.

I have a friend who appears to have mastered this approach. His self-discipline is out of this world. His secret? He doesn’t quit! For example, he planted a church…he’s still pastoring it. He started a blog…he’s still blogging. There’s a pattern and the pattern is diligence.

Meanwhile, we live in a world where diligence has fallen into the ditch. We start researching an area of interest…fifteen minutes later we start a new search. We want kids…then we find out they are not what they thought they were going to be and we give up on them. We start our dream job…3 months later we look for a new one. We start going to church…a couple Sundays in we find out the people there are not perfect and we have to motivate ourselves to get up and go. So, we stop.

So what one thing did you learn this year? What one thing would you like to do differently this year.

Here is a bit of super coaching to get you focused. Based on your goals and dreams this year, what’s one thing you could do this year to achieve them?

What’s one thing you could to to achieve them in six months? 3 months? This month? This week? Today? Think about that. If you want to make changes this year, you can start today. Right now! Don’t wait until the new year.

In the morning, rather than surfing the web for twenty minutes, I’m going to ______________________________________. (fill in the blank)

Remember, habits are like money. They snowball and compound. Work on the fundamentals and the rest falls into place.

This year, rather than trying to accomplish ten thousand things, what one thing would you like to accomplish? Leave your comments below.