Productivity
Gary Keller's central question — "What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?" — is the philosophical foundation of the Engine. Here is why we built it around three Most Important Tasks.
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan open The One Thing with what they call the focusing question:
"What is the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"
It is a question designed to cut through noise. In a world of infinite demands and finite time, the ability to identify the single most important action is the most valuable skill a high-performer can develop.
If the book is called The One Thing, why does MeridianOS ask you to select three MITs?
The answer is context. Keller's question is designed for strategic thinking — for identifying the one lever that moves everything else. But in the reality of a working day, you will have responsibilities across multiple domains: your primary work, your health, your relationships, your personal projects.
Three MITs is a practical compromise between the ruthless focus of The One Thing and the complexity of a real life. It is enough to force genuine prioritisation — you cannot put everything on the list — but enough to acknowledge that you are a whole person with multiple commitments.
The rule is simple: if you could only do three things today, what would they be?
Keller uses the metaphor of dominoes to explain how extraordinary results are achieved. A single domino can knock over another domino 50% larger than itself. A chain of dominoes, each slightly larger than the last, can eventually knock over a domino the size of a skyscraper.
Your MITs are the first domino. They are the actions that, once completed, make everything else easier or unnecessary.
This is why MeridianOS asks you to link each MIT to a weekly priority, and each weekly priority to a quarterly milestone. The chain of causation should be visible. You should be able to look at your morning's work and trace it directly back to your life vision.
Keller makes an important observation about willpower: it is not unlimited. It depletes throughout the day. The most important work should be done first, when your cognitive resources are at their peak.
This is why the morning ritual matters. By selecting your three MITs before the day begins — before your inbox fills up, before the meetings start, before the demands of others crowd out your own priorities — you are making your most important decisions at your best.
The One Thing is unambiguous on this point: multitasking does not exist. What we call multitasking is actually task-switching — rapidly alternating between tasks, with a cognitive cost each time.
The Engine is designed to support single-tasking. When you open it, you see three tasks. Not thirty. Not a hundred. Three. The interface is deliberately minimal because the goal is focus, not comprehensiveness.
Here is how to use Keller's focusing question with MeridianOS:
The question is not "What do I need to do today?" It is "What is the most important thing I can do today?" The difference is everything.