Monday Mindset: Just one thing
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One, and only one
At today’s Founders Focus session, McVal Osborne started with a bit of challenge… He didn’t know which task to pick!
Thankfully by the end of the session, he had chosen one — but more importantly, he realised something crucial: choosing just one thing to focus on is a skill in itself.
It’s easy to want to do everything, even in a deep work session. Founders juggle multiple priorities, urgent fires, and long-term goals all at once. But when it comes to deep, focused work, picking one task is often the hardest — and most valuable — decision you’ll make.
Why Pick Just One?
You’ll remove decision fatigue for starters. Instead of spending time wondering what to work on, you get straight into execution.
You’ll also build momentum. Finishing one high-impact task will give you energy, satisfaction and confidence for whatever you end up doing from 11am onwards each Monday.
And you’ll build a good habit. You’ll train yourself to focus. Jumping between multiple tasks creates the illusion of productivity1. Deep work on one thing creates actual progress.
The Downside?
What you pick might be ‘wrong’. What if there was a better task, what if you might have made more progress doing something else?
The reality is, any deep work is better than no deep work. The real enemy is indecision.
You also won’t clear your whole to-do list. That’s okay though, when have you ever? The goal isn’t to do everything — it’s to do what matters. The goal might even be to do less.
You have to commit. When you pick one task, you can’t hedge your bets. You have to go all in, at least for this hour. That can feel uncomfortable, but it’s also where real progress happens.
How to Pick One Task for Founders Focus
You could ask yourself, what will make the biggest difference today? Or, what one task might pay off for the rest of the week (or month or year…)?
But be careful, I’d warn agains doing admin. Answering lots of emails is busy work and doesn’t count! It’s better to pick one important, high leverage email than to be busy, busy, busy replying to dozens.
And once you pick, commit. It might only be after 30 minutes or so that you get into the groove and realise it was exactly the right pick.
Join now, join the next session
You can join Founders Focus at any time. Do that and I will add you to the calendar and the private Slack channel. Then, the next time it’s Monday at 10am (UK time) you can show up.
Well, don’t just show up. Show up with clarity. Pick one task, go deep, and see the impact for yourself.
🔗 Details and sign up here.
Thanks for reading,
Upcoming meals with 9others
The meals with 9others are your chance to come together, share a challenge and help each other out.
Wednesday 26th March — London — details and signup here.
Tuesday 8th April — Manchester — details and signup here.
If you’d like to host in your city please email matthew@9others.com
You’ll be a ‘busy idiot’ as John Graham calls them..!