craiyon logo

A crayon-style illustration of colored steps representing goals, with a domino on the top step and a chain of falling dominos beside it. Text on steps reads: 'SOMEDAY GOAL', '5-YEAR', '1-YEAR', 'WEEKLY', 'RIGHT NOW'. 'THE ONE THING' is at the top.

A crayon-style illustration of colored steps representing goals, with a domino on the top step and a chain of falling dominos beside it. Text on steps reads: 'SOMEDAY GOAL', '5-YEAR', '1-YEAR', 'WEEKLY', 'RIGHT NOW'. 'THE ONE THING' is at the top.
Pro

a crayon drawing to this article: Gary Keller’s ONE Thing method teaches you to focus on a single priority using a 7-level framework that connects your biggest goal to what you do right now. The 7-level steps: Work backward from your someday goal through 5-year, 1-year, monthly, weekly, daily, and “right now” actions. Each level directly feeds the next, creating aligned momentum instead of scattered effort. ONE priority beats many: Focusing on your ONE Thing eliminates decision fatigue and shiny object syndrome. Daily actions compound dramatically when channeled into a single goal rather than spread across multiple priorities. Requires research first: Study people who’ve achieved similar goals to understand realistic timeframes and approaches. Review your 7-level structure weekly to ensure daily actions genuinely support your bigger goals, not just tangentially related tasks. You’ve probably got a list somewhere. Maybe it’s in your Notes app, scribbled in a planner, or living rent-free in your head. All those things you want to accomplish: launch that side business, get in shape, learn Spanish, write a book, renovate the kitchen. The truth, however, is that most of those goals are sabotaging each other. “Build your success one domino at a time.” When I first heard about “The ONE Thing” approach from Gary Keller‘s book, I thought it sounded too simple. Focus on just one goal? But after watching myself spin my wheels on a dozen different priorities for months, I decided to try See more

More images like this

A conceptual illustration of a weekly calendar with anthropomorphic figures representing different days, showing activities from drinking coffee to reading.

Pro

Zoom action
A distressed stick figure running while holding a stack of papers, with more papers flying around in a doodle illustration style.

Pro

Zoom action
Stick figure with a worried expression falling into an open red box with warning symbols, on a yellow background, in a simple cartoon style.

Pro

Zoom action
An illustration of a vintage scale with a clock face and a card on its pan that reads 'one at a time'.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon illustration of a group of children sitting around a large round table, under a glowing lightbulb, engaged in a meeting.

Pro

Zoom action
Comic-style illustration of an overwhelmed person surrounded by speech bubbles and pointing hands representing work, news, social media, family, pressure, expectations, and a misspelling of exercise, on a chaotic background.

Pro

Zoom action
Split image: left side shows an organized desk with a laptop and notebook; right side shows crumpled papers, scribbles, and floating question marks, in an editorial illustration style.

Pro

Zoom action
A large white feather quill pen on a pastel yellow background, surrounded by minimalist outline icons of a book, gear, cursor, and paintbrush.

Pro

Zoom action
A smiling Black man hands money to a serious Asian man across a table with clothes. "House Rules" and a "Chore Wheel" posters are on the wall.

Pro

Zoom action
Monochrome cartoon illustration of a diverse group of smiling people gathered around large 'FB' letters with clouds in the background.

Pro

Zoom action
Stylized illustration of five researchers in lab coats, surrounded by glowing energy flowing towards a central orb. Floating signs read "FUNDING", "GRANTS", "FUUUNDATIONS", and "GOVERNMENT". Buildings are in the background.

Pro

Zoom action
Painted illustration of a school yearbook open to student portraits, featuring "YEARBOOK" and "SENIORS" text, with a school building, football, and paintbrush.

Pro

Zoom action
A four-panel illustration. Top-left: a person wakes up to an alarm clock. Top-right: a pixel art game screen with an armed character in a cityscape. Bottom-left: the same game screen with 'YOU WIN' and a star. Bottom-right: a calendar showing 'WEEK', 'school', 'work', 'rest' with clouds.

Pro

Zoom action
Watercolor infographic comparing expectation (upward chart) with reality (downward graph, ideas, learning).

Pro

Zoom action
A stylized graphic reads 'AVOIDING PEOPLE IS A FULL-TIME JOB' in blue and red text, with a dark city skyline and smoky shapes in the background.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon drawing of a screaming orange with the words 'ANNOYING ORANGE' and YouTube player controls on a blue background.

Pro

Zoom action
Hand-drawn sepia illustration of a sticky note reading 'Productivity begins approximately three sips in' with a coffee cup and pen.

Pro

Zoom action
A black and white cartoon of a nervous man in a suit with women's underwear sticking out of his pocket, facing a jury. A speech bubble asks, "WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WOMEN TODAY?"

Pro

Zoom action
A sad, anthropomorphic to-do list character with checked and scribbled boxes, thinking "Where do I start?" in a simple black and white cartoon style.

Pro

Zoom action
An illustration showing three students in a classroom with thought bubbles above them. One student asks a question with raised hands, while others show various thoughts like asking for water, looking out a window, or consulting books.

Pro

Zoom action
An hourglass shows silhouetted children as sand, moving towards a schoolroom. Seasonal symbols (leaf, snowflake, flower, sun) frame the image on a sky backdrop.

Pro

Zoom action
Textured illustration of a person walking on a branching path towards career icons, under a glowing sunrise, with text 'CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE'.

Pro

Zoom action
Minimalist illustration of 'The Lines of Life' showing long queues for doors labeled 'criticize' and 'gossip', and fewer people for 'get involved', 'encourage', and 'help'.

Pro

Zoom action
Four black and white illustrations showing financial concepts. One depicts people growing wealth, another a phone with a budget, a third a person viewing their future self on a screen, and the last a phone showing $10 growing to $100,000.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon boy stands on a gold medal podium, holding a gold medal that says "MESSACE LONORING CHAMPION." Confetti falls around him. Two animated smartphones are next to the podium, one holding a "YAY" sign and the other a "GO!" flag.

Pro

Zoom action
A colorful illustration of a classroom with a male teacher writing at his desk, students with raised hands, and posters on the wall.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon illustration of a bullseye target in red, white, orange, and blue with a brown and blue arrow hitting the center.

Pro

Zoom action
A cheerful cartoon pencil with arms raised stands on an open book, surrounded by floating papers and clouds in a bright yellow sky.

Pro

Zoom action
Minimalist flat icon of an open notebook and smartphone with timer icons and task checkmarks in soft green and light blue.

Pro

Zoom action
Textured illustration of two overlapping speech bubbles; one grey with circuit patterns, one orange, with a smiley face, shopping cart, and question mark.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon number one character with arms and legs, looking thoughtful with a hand on its chin. Lightbulbs in thought bubbles appear above its head, and various colorful numbers and mathematical symbols float around it on a blue sky and brown ground background.

Pro

Zoom action
Minimalist illustration of a person at a desk, writing on paperwork labeled 'LEGAL' next to a stack of documents, in an office setting.

Pro

Zoom action
A whimsical, colorful illustration of a large man in a suit, surrounded by cartoon figures, taxis with numbers, and buildings shaped like numbers against a blue sky.

Pro

Zoom action
An isometric illustration showing diverse people interacting with various digital interfaces representing social media, wellness, and self-care, surrounded by plants and everyday objects, all on a pink background.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon stick figure superhero with a beard and red cape flies over a city. Text bubbles around him list skills like 'Accounting and Finance', 'Client Support', and 'The Most Chilled Superhero'. He holds a sign saying 'Customer Experience Superhero' and a book titled 'Customer Expebience Supervero'.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon dachshund with its body divided into three sections labeled 'TO DO', 'DOING', and 'DONE'. Blank notepads float nearby.

Pro

Zoom action
Colorful paper cutout figures form a human tower against a blue background, with a triumphant figure at the top.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon superhero teacher with four arms, headset, and school logo, multitasking in a classroom. Speech bubble reads: "I see everything. I do everything. I keep teaching."

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon illustration of a muscular arm flexing a bicep while holding a clipboard with various business ideas and symbols.

Pro

Zoom action
Three cartoon students with noodle hands and faceless heads type on laptops, splattering red sauce on a desk in an office.

Pro

Zoom action
An overhead view of a human brain as a dark labyrinth with labeled paths for cognitive biases like 'Confirmation Bias' and 'Sunk Cost'. A small figure with a lantern walks through it towards an 'Exit' leading to 'Clear Judgment' in a moody, surreal illustration.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon office scene in a kid's drawing style, with a cheerful manager talking to an employee and a line of people.

Pro

Zoom action
A lively, diverse group of people of varying ages and ethnicities gathered around a table in a digital makerspace, working on laptops and collaborating in a line-drawn illustration style.

Pro

Zoom action
Cheerful stick figure under a bright sky, arms raised towards a dissolving cloud labeled 'MYTHS'. Stylized illustration.

Pro

Zoom action
A vibrant illustration of a megaphone broadcasting colorful wavy lines and blank speech bubbles.

Pro

Zoom action
An animated diverse team in a modern boardroom, seated around a table with laptops, charts, and sticky notes on walls, working collaboratively.

Pro

Zoom action
An illustration of a girl and a green robot sitting on the floor surrounded by books, with the text 'This is my year' above them.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon boy in Diary of a Wimpy Kid style looks stressed, holding a laptop showing 'undefined,' surrounded by code on blackboards and piles of 'CODE UPDATES' and 'DEBUG LOGS.'

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon illustrations of diverse groups of people collaborating in meetings, brainstorming with sticky notes on tables and whiteboards.

Pro

Zoom action
A funny cartoon shows four puzzled students with worried expressions examining a large, complex quantum computer in a science lab.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon of a diverse group in a meeting, four people look confused while one woman has a bright idea, holding a lightbulb.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon illustration of three students with noodles instead of hands, smearing red sauce on laptops at the 'Information Commission'.

Pro

Zoom action
A boy stands on a cobbled path, looking up at a starry night sky with glowing constellations of a girl, cat, horse, and rose, under a banner reading "HOW FAR ARE THE STARS" in a scratchy illustration style.

Pro

Zoom action
A stick figure runs while holding a computer monitor from which papers with text like 'Resume' and 'Empty Job' fly out, with colorful lines.

Pro

Zoom action
A smiling African American woman at a desk with cards, one reading 'It's Giving...Done', in a black and white clipart style on an orange background.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon man with an illuminated lightbulb head, containing a Viking, people, a laptop, a phone, and Wi-Fi symbol.

Pro

Zoom action
Minimalist illustration of a girl sitting on a large pink '0' and a boy holding flowers in front of a large pink '9', with '07' stacked on '09'.

Pro

Zoom action
A vibrant cartoon illustration of happy children playing in a sunny playground with a carousel and kites.

Pro

Zoom action
An illustration of a blue-skinned man gesturing towards a maze with the word 'SHAREPOINT'. Three figures walk through the maze, leading to a bright, glowing figure and the word 'INTERACT'.

Pro

Zoom action
Flat graphic illustration of global communication and commerce with people, a globe, and icons like letters, music, shopping bags, and clothes in blues and greens.

Pro

Zoom action
Comic illustration of an overwhelmed person surrounded by speech bubbles with words like 'Work', 'Family', 'News', and 'Pressure' and pointing hands.

Pro

Zoom action
A sad blue calendar labeled 'TUESDAY' looks at a happy orange calendar labeled 'MONDAY' jumping amidst floating numbers in a painterly style.

Pro

Zoom action
A lone silhouette figure with question marks above its head observes a glowing cube containing four other silhouettes, on a textured gray background.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon split scene shows a successful business meeting on the left and a chaotic, disorganized meeting on the right.

Pro

Zoom action
A colorful pyramid chart for task prioritization, divided into three sections: "The non negotiable taisk" at the top, "2-3 essantial but secondary items" in the middle, and "Base (Low-Priority Tasks) Optional "if there’s time" items" at the bottom. Around the pyramid are icons of a clock, a pen, a checkmark, and a checklist.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon illustration of stressed office workers in a chaotic, cluttered server room, surrounded by piles of documents and monitors displaying garbled data.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon illustration of a diverse office team laughing around a table with a monitor displaying a video call, under a neon 'Friday!' sign.

Pro

Zoom action
Close-up of a person with muscular arms writing in an open notebook at a desk with a laptop and pens, in an illustrative style.

Pro

Zoom action
An illustrated man in a yellow jacket stands by a gate, gesturing towards a university building with graduates and floating books and Amazon logos.

Pro

Zoom action
Cartoon image of robots and a child at a race starting line, with a scoreboard reading "Goal: Artificial General Intelligence" and spectators in the bleachers. The child holds a sign with a brain.

Pro

Zoom action
A cartoon file folder character with glasses stands on an office desk with a speech bubble saying "LISTEN TO ME, I AM THE PROJECT NOW."

Pro

Zoom action
An hourglass sits on an open book, with sand flowing. Clocks and abstract branches are in the background. Text '15-MINUTE RULE' is at the top in an illustrative style.

Pro

Zoom action