Room for growth: Lessons from “The One Thing”

I recently finished reading The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, and it genuinely made me stop and reflect on the way many of us work and live.

For most of my career, I’ve worked in fast-paced environments managing multiple portfolios, priorities and competing demands all at once. At one stage, my role covered nine different areas of responsibility. I thrived on the pace, pressure and challenge of keeping everything moving forward. Slowing down never felt like an option.

So I worked. Constantly.

I skipped weekends, missed my children’s football games, said no to friends and convinced myself that being busy meant I was succeeding. Like many people, I wore multitasking as a badge of honour.

But after reading The One Thing, I started questioning whether multitasking is actually what we think it is.

Are we truly achieving more, or are we simply dividing our attention so broadly that we never give enough energy to the things that matter most?

The book challenges the idea that doing everything at once is productive. Instead, it argues that extraordinary results come from focusing on what matters most and giving it the time, energy and attention it deserves.

That idea hit hard.

Because when I reflected honestly, I realised that while I was achieving many things, I was also operating in a constant cycle of reacting, responding and trying to keep up.

What I also realised is that my “one thing” has always been people.

I genuinely love helping people. I love supporting leaders, building capability, helping organisations navigate challenges and creating environments where people feel supported, valued and able to grow.

That realisation is a big part of why I started People & Purpose Advisory.

I wanted to create work grounded in what matters most to me, working alongside not-for-profits, NGOs and purpose-led organisations to provide practical support that strengthens people, leadership and governance.

For me, this reflection became less about productivity and more about recognising there is always room for growth, in how we lead, how we work and how we prioritise what matters most.

I’m still learning what balance looks like, but I know now that success should not come at the expense of the people and moments that matter most.

Sometimes growth is not about doing more. Sometimes it is about focusing on what truly matters.