The Allure Of “Just One More”

While I don’t consider myself a “groupie,” I admit to being a fanatical follower of Seth Godin. Author of many best-selling books, he has a way with words and concepts I find fascinating. I may not always agree with him, but he always makes me think.

One of Godin’s blog posts really connected and stayed with me. It’s entitled, Desire is full of endless distances. I was intrigued by his comment that we always say “just one more…” like we believe we will be done with something at that point. A classic example I think of is eating a bag of potato chips and saying, “Just one more and I’ll stop.” Our desire for more is always there.

His blog caused me to reflect on how many times we use the same mindset in our day and it stalls our work on what really matters. See if any of these sound familiar:

• Just one more time checking my email and then I’ll get to work on that “A” priority task
• Just one more look at _______________ (insert your favorite social media account) and then I’ll stop to work on other things
• Just one more hour of tying up some loose ends and then I’ll stop to create a killer outline for my presentation next week
• Just one more episode of ______________ (insert your favorite TV show) and then I’ll go to bed
• Just one more overloaded week at work and then I’ll really focus on spending time with my family
• Just one more month and then I’ll have time to _________ (insert something of value you keep putting off)

The false hope shown in any of these situations is that we can truly stop the wanting at that point… or that what is wanted will go away and leave us alone. Neither is true.

What if we tweaked this idea of “Just one more” so that it would serve to help us stay focused on our highest priorities? Then our day might include phrases like:

• Just one more review of my task list to make sure I have the highest priorities built into my schedule
• Just one more conversation with __________ (insert coworker, boss, or family member) to make sure we are both clear on our expectations
• Just one more mile on the elliptical machine to improve my physical well-being
• Just one more hug for my spouse so they know how much I love them
• Just one more day to reflect on purchasing that item to make sure I can afford it
• Just one more moment to take a few deep breaths to keep my stress level in check
• Just one more thank you card to someone
• Just one more minute talking with my children about what’s important to them
• Just one more revision of that email to make sure the message will be received as intended
• Just one more second to process what the other person is saying so I don’t create unnecessary confusion with my response

As Godin brilliantly writes, “We want the wanting.” My perspective is that the key to improvement is to change what we want “Just one more” of in our day.

What “Just one mores” would allow you to more consistently accomplish what is most important to you?