Over the years, I’ve sat down with countless individuals from every conceivable corner of the professional world — founders, entrepreneurs, execs, influencers and athletes alike.

And if there’s one thing that becomes undeniable at the top, it’s this:

The higher you climb, the heavier the weight.

More complex decisions.
More competing responsibilities.
More demands on your time, energy, and focus.

Without clear priorities and a disciplined mind, it’s impossible not to get scattered.

Most people don’t see it happening in real time. They work longer, harder, pushing through more tasks than ever… yet get busier, rather than effective.

Not because they lack skill or ambition, but because their focus is leaking — pulled in too many directions at once.

At first, it seems harmless. A quick email between meetings. A few tabs open while working. Jumping between projects, conversations, and ideas, believing that momentum is being built.

But beneath the surface, something is happening that most people don’t notice.

Every time the mind shifts, every time attention splinters, every time a notification hijacks focus, the brain has to reset. It has to reload where it left off, reorient to the task at hand, rebuild the clarity that was just starting to take shape. And this comes at a cost — one that compounds over time.

There’s plenty of proof out there in the world that illustrates this too:

• Studies show the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company gets just 28 minutes of uninterrupted time per day.
• The average professional rarely gets 60 consecutive minutes of deep focus before being pulled into another task or distraction.
• Worse still, a different research, shows that every time you get interrupted — whether by a phone, colleague, or notification — it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain full focus.

In short, decision-making slows down, creativity suffocates, and the ability to execute at a high level erodes. The brain, forced to operate in a state of perpetual starting and stopping, loses its ability to access deeper levels of thinking and operating.

It stays stuck in a loop of constant activity but diminishing impact. And the worst part is that it can often feel productive. It feels like work is being done.

But at the end of the day, when the results don’t match the effort, frustration creeps in.

The answer, isn’t in doing more. It’s in doing less, but better.

This is the foundation of excellence.

Because excellence is never about how much you do — it’s about how well you do it.

True excellence doesn’t come from volume. Excellence comes from depth, clarity, and precision — from the ability to take a single task and execute it at a level most people never reach.

Look at the highest performers in any field — the athletes, the entrepreneurs, the artists, the visionaries. They understand that focus is a competitive advantage.

Yet, most people operate at half-power, half-presence, half-engagement. They rush from one task to the next, never fully immersing themselves, never giving their work the level of attention it deserves.

And as a result, they produce average results — good enough to get by, but nowhere near the level of impact they’re truly capable of.

But those who pursue excellence think differently.

And this is where mono-tasking comes in.

Not just working on one thing at a time, but working on one thing fully. Not allowing attention to be fractured, but directing it with deliberate intent. Not jumping between tasks, but giving each one the respect it deserves.

It’s simple in theory. It’s difficult in practice.

The shift starts small. One task, one block of time, one deliberate focus session. Identify one high-impact task today. Not a list of things to do, not a dozen scattered objectives — one task that, if completed, moves the needle.

At first, it will feel uncomfortable. It will feel like something is missing — like you should be doing more. That’s just the addiction to busyness trying to pull you back. Ignore it. Push through. Stay in the work. Let your mind sink deeper into it.

This is when the work will start flowing. Ideas will sharpen. Execution will feel cleaner, faster, easier. What once took hours will take less time, not because you’re working harder, but because you’re finally working right.

That’s the shift. That’s how high performers create impact.

Not by doing everything.

But by choosing what matters, and doing it better than anyone else.

So, I challenge you — for the upcoming week, pick one thing — something you’ve been trying to get done but haven’t been able to fully focus on. Maybe it’s a project, a decision, a problem that needs solving. Whatever it is, approach it differently.

No split attention. No background noise. Just complete, deliberate engagement.

Then, observe what happens

Watch how much more gets done in less time. Feel the difference in energy. Notice how much clearer everything becomes when you stop feeding the distractions that are pulling you away.

Because the truth is, if you want to make a difference — in any context of life — you have to be able to give attention to the right things.

If you can’t do that, it’s hard to do anything.