When work stacks up… when you’re pulled in different directions… when the plan changes… when a project stretches on and on, and you’ve lost the plot… It’s always helpful to recenter on what matters most.
Ask: What’s the big idea? What’s ✨the most important thing✨? What’s the one constant we need to remember?
Summarize the ONE THING in a sentence (or even a few words!) and put it everywhere.
Write it at the top of every document. Put it in your email signature. Frame it on your wall. Write it on a Post-it note on your computer monitor.
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Here’s an example. Right now, I’m working on a book project. My deadline is in April 2027 (!!!!), so I’m definitely grappling with how to stay focused on ✨the most important thing✨ when I’ll have many months to hunt down examples, go deep in interviews, and play with how all of the concepts work together.
On long projects like this one, I find that my clients and I often start with one idea, but meander through many side ideas as we develop the book.
It helps me to keep the BIG IDEA (✨the most important thing✨) front and center — to make sure every side exploration and new idea relates back to the BIG IDEA. Each new element is either supporting the big idea, exploring a new side of it, or even challenging it — but the big idea is our fulcrum we keep coming back to.
And! Even knowing that! …It can be easy to lose yourself in all of the details.
This week, in the middle of a conversation about something else, my sister asked me what the book is about. Her question caught me off guard, and even though I’ve already spent months working on the book proposal, I stumbled a bit when I tried to explain it to her.
I realized that for this project, I need more than a single phrase that can fit on a Post-It. I need an elevator pitch for the book — to keep me focused on ✨the most important thing✨… and to quickly tell people what I’m working on when they ask.
My hunch is that the better the elevator pitch, the easier it will be for me to keep the book focused on ✨the most important thing✨ over the next 12 months.
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Your turn! What are you working on? What’s ✨the most important thing✨? Could you fit it on a Post-It? How would you give me your elevator pitch?
