Jumah Nugget: How To Focus on ONE THING This Ramadan and Excel at It

In 2019, we started an accountability group with some brethren at our masjid led by the then Imam — Sheikh Assem Abozeed. The group’s objective was to focus on ONE THING in the blessed month of Ramadan that year. This idea was based upon the Wall Street Journal bestselling book— The One Thing. Seeing Ramadan as an opportunity to build good habits or break away from bad ones, we decided to embark upon this journey with like-minded individuals.

We started by setting our goals individually to achieve ONE THING significantly by the end of Ramadan. We did host weekly accountability sessions where we reviewed our progress and honestly resolved to work on the weak areas. This task was arduous but highly effective in assessing oneself. Based on my experience using this system and how successful it was, I want to share how you can also gain something meaningful from the blessed month while focusing on ONE THING.

The companions of the Prophet ﷺ understood and implemented this ONE THING strategy such that they did not return to him to learn another verse from the Qur’an until they had mastered the previous one. The goal of Ramadan is to attain righteousness. Hence, it’s not an annual ritual for hunger strikes at dawn and gluttony at sunset. To achieve this goal of God consciousness, you need to take baby steps by focusing on ONE THING at a time.

The problem with many of us is that we want to accomplish a lot of things in Ramadan. There’s nothing wrong with this if you’re steadfast in faith. Unfortunately, we may end up not attaining anything at all if we’re not careful. Like the proverbial adage that says: He who chases two Rabbits will end up not catching one. For those who have mastered the act of fasting alongside other acts of worship, the SMART methodology may work for them.

However, if you’re still struggling to improve your acts of worship or quit bad habits, then the ONE THING approach may be the best for you. Let’s examine how we can harness this system optimally. First, I will enlist eight steps below, followed by a practical example…

1. Be Intentional: Set out with a good intention solely to please Allah. Make a resolution that you want this to be your best Ramadan ever because you don’t know if it will be the last. Hence, there’s a need for you to excel at it. Your goal for this year’s Ramadan is to focus on excelling at ONE THING throughout the blessed month and you will not leave that thing until you have mastered it.
2. Go Small: For you to get to the heart of things, you need to go small. Don’t set ambitious goals for yourself because you may end up being overwhelmingly exhausted and not achieving anything. This part breaks down what you could do, to what you should do, by narrowing your focus to ONE THING. Take baby steps in doing that ONE THING you’ve determined to do until you accomplish it.
3. Take Action: No one will help you achieve this goal if you don’t put in the effort. Your actions will determine the outcome of your efforts. Hence you need to be disciplined and take realistic actions. To be successful with the ONE THING is about doing the right thing and not about doing everything right.
4. Work with a Success List: Many of us are quite used to working with a to-do list. This will only keep you redundant from achieving your ONE THING. Instead of the to-do list, you need a success list. This is a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results. The majority of what you want to accomplish will come from the minority of what you do. Therefore, you have to prioritize your actions and narrow them down to ONE THING at a time.
5. Answer your Focusing Question: For you to achieve this ONE THING, there’s a need for you to gain clarity by answering your focusing question. That’s why this approach is uncommonly different. Your focusing question is: what’s the ONE THING I can do such that by doing it, everything else will become easier? This is a big-picture map — your goal, with a small-focus compass — your ONE THING action.
6. Improve Geometrically: Since you started small by focusing on ONE THING until you achieved it, then you can move on to the next thing and then focus on it until you accomplish it as well. A geometric progression starts slow until it becomes too fast to stop. So you gain momentum as you focus on your small goal -ONE THING- conquering it one step at a time.
7. Be Accountable: As mentioned earlier, actions determine outcomes and outcomes inform actions. To be successful in implementing the ONE THING strategy, you have to hold yourself accountable for your actions and inactions. It’s accountability that helps you measure your progress to achieve the ONE THING — your desired result.
8. Create a Support System: No one succeeds alone and no one fails alone. While it’s unhealthy to compare yourself with others, you also need to surround yourself only with people who are going to help you achieve your ONE THING. You might need an accountability partner — a friend, mentor, or coach.

A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

Goal: To observe salat on time with Khushoo

So in this example, we are trying to build a good habit of praying on time with the right focus. This is an act that many Muslims struggle with. We want to examine how to implement the ONE THING following the steps above.

• Intentional: Your main focus this Ramadan is how to improve your salat — an act of worship, by observing it timely with the right methodology to please Allah.
• Go Small: Don’t mix it with anything else so that you can achieve this objective. Here’s a simple illustrative chart to explain it further:

• Take Action: Get up to pray on time, set an alarm to wake you up, get out of bed, and strive to follow the prophetic methodology of observing the prayer.
• Success List: Your to-do list is things that you want to do but may not be relevant to achieving your objective. For example: go to work, buy groceries, call your parents. These are important but not relevant to your goal of praying on time with maximum concentration. On the other hand, your success list is the things you need to do for you to achieve your goal. For example, have a private prayer room at work, silence your phone to avert distraction, practicing mindfulness while praying. Check out the sample in the image above.
• Focusing Question: What is the ONE THING I can do to observe my salat on time with Khushoo?

• Improve Geometrically: Now you can progress with your concentration in salat by listening to the recitation, following the Imaam, or pondering over the meaning of Allah’s words. Being in a state of ease and not rushing, practicing mindfulness, and making the right supplications.
• Accountability: Check yourself if you’re following your should-do list judiciously. Ask yourself: what am I doing wrong and why did I fail to achieve my goal? If you can answer that question, it will help your progress meaningfully.
• Support System: Remember I mentioned how my group will meet weekly to review our progress, that was my support system. We would occasionally ask ourselves during the day: how are you fairing with your goal? In this case, you may need a salat partner who wakes you for Fajr or prays alongside you.

In sum, the one thing isn’t about ignoring other aspects of worship or life. It’s about focusing on ONE THING and executing it well. Then you can go back and apply the same strategy in executing another thing as well. The journey to becoming a better Muslim begins with a step. That step is the ONE THING, you need to focus on it and keep stepping. Wishing you a blissful Ramadan ahead.

PS: Success comes only by the will of Allah! If you find this piece beneficial, it’s by Allah’s Grace. It’s no scholarly work and we accept our mistakes. Suggestions are welcomed in making this effort better as well. You are free to share by any means for enlightenment purposes. Kindly give a “click-clap” to enable other readers on Medium to see this post. We ask Allah to keep us guided and steadfast upon the right path. Do subscribe to Jum’ah Nugget to get our subsequent publication in sha Allah!

Yaumul Jumah 13th Shabaan 1445H // Friday 23rd Febuary 2024