How to really focus on ONE thing
20% Breakthrough Focus + 80% Whirlwind
Focusing on ONE thing isn't about sheer willpower. It's about choosing the right perspective.
Why we fail at focusing on ONE thing
Too often, the mantra of single-minded focus leaves you:
Directionless, because it's really hard to pick that one thing out of an ocean of worthwhile things,
Pulled apart, because life happens; unless you're a monk in meditation (and probably not even then), more than one thing is asking for your attention at any given day,
Drained, because it feels inhuman to pursue something so narrowly.
That doesn't mean you can't focus on one thing.
It just means you need a more flexible perspective.
Some of your current perspectives could be:
Focusing like a laser beam
Deciding between project A and B
Putting family before work
These perspectives can be very personal, unique, quirky.
Whatever your perspective is: if it doesn't serve you, if you feel directionless, pulled apart or drained, come up with new perspectives and try them out.
I've written about six perspectives on focus before.
Today, let me share a perspective specifically on 'focusing on ONE thing' that my clients and I have found useful:
Breakthrough Focus
Divide your work into breakthrough and whirlwind.
Breakthrough is what significantly changes your outcomes, changes the game you play, lifting you to a new level of operating. It can be getting the new job, winning an election, hiring your first sales person.
Whirlwind are the day-to-day activities that you need to take care of, just to keep things going. It can be hitting your KPIs, responding to client requests, staying in touch with friends.
Breakthrough and whirlwind activities can both be 'important'. The real distinction is that a breakthrough propels you to a new level, it changes your trajectory.
Whirlwind is everything else.
You'll still have plenty of other things to do in your whirlwind, some of which are not just urgent, but also important. But it's only the breakthrough that can significantly change an aspect of your life, and for that you focus on one wildly important goal.
Most of your time is spent in the whirlwind, probably 80%.
20% of your time is spent on a achieving a breakthrough.
In this perspective, focusing on one thing means: picking one goal that would be a breakthrough for you. 20% of your time, you work on achieving that goal.
When you have achieved it, typically there are follow-up activities that move into your whirlwind. E.g. you've hired your first sales person (breakthrough), now you need to figure out how to work well together (whirlwind).
There is a pareto logic here: 20% of the time spent on achieving a breakthrough will give you 80% of value, satisfaction, improved life quality.
The problem is when we don't even make 20% of the time to work on a breakthrough. Whirlwind is called that way for a reason: it easily pulls you in and fills the day with things that are urgent, necessary or priorities of others - and some of these might be 'important' to you.
But 'important' is too imprecise when it comes to focusing on one thing. For a construction company, adhering to safety standards is important, yes, but for a mature company you'd expect it to be part of their day-to-day operations, i.e. whirlwind; it's not going to move the needle for them anymore. Only focusing part of their time on a breakthrough can do that.
The percentages will change over time. When you start a company or an election campaign, you'll spend more time on breakthroughs. You'll want to quickly hit milestones that level you up. As you hit them, they are integrated into your whirlwind, which becomes larger. But at any point in time, focusing on ONE thing means to spend at least 20% of your time on working on a breakthrough.
A Civil Servant's Unexpected Breakthrough
One of my clients, a civil servant, once came to me feeling overwhelmed by competing priorities: a digitalization project, managing his team, stakeholder demands, and his ambition to lead a high-profile initiative. Everything felt either urgent or important, or both.
We didn’t start by narrowing his to-do list. We started by asking: what would truly change your trajectory?
The answer didn't come immediately. He was still stuck in the loop of 'urgent and important', cycling through his to-dos, considering project deadlines, trying to rank what mattered most. Everything felt like it mattered, but yet nothing felt transformative.
So we zoomed out, explored old aspirations, the moments when he felt most alive at work, but also the aspects he hated about his work. I kept asking: What would change the game for you? What one significant outcome would present a breakthrough? For you, for the team, for the department?
Then something clicked.
He chose something surprising: getting certified as a mediator. It wasn't directly tied to any pressing work KPIs. But it had been a long-standing ambition. More importantly, it would help him lead complex negotiations with more clarity and confidence. That was his breakthrough.
He blocked off Thursday and Friday mornings for three months. He got the certification. Within weeks, he was leading a high-stakes facilitation between rival units that previously refused to collaborate. His status shifted, his confidence grew, and eventually he got asked to take over the very cross-departmental initiative he'd once thought was out of reach.
The breakthrough wasn’t found on his to-do list. It was found by stepping outside of it. It was a pivot point. This and his discipline to protect 20% of his time to execute on his breakthrough shifted the game entirely for him.
Breakthrough focus can feel energising and liberating. You know you're working toward something transformative, while not feeling boxed in or neglecting the rest of your work and life.
To get there, you need to:
Pick one breakthrough goal
Block 20% of your time to work on it
Act on lead measures (measures that you can directly influence and that are predictive of your goal)
Visualize progress
Create accountability
If you want to dive deeper on how to execute on breakthrough goals, I recommend the book 'The 4 Disciplines of Execution'
Let me know how it goes for you.