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I started work at eighteen. I already had my Cambridge O Levels, with As in Accounting, Business and Economics, and an AAT Level 4 certificate, so the next step was obvious: ACCA. It took me a while to take it. By the time I did, I was married, with a child and a full-time job.
I studied alone, with online tutors and free resources. No classroom, no study group, no one checking on me. I sat one paper at a time, gave each one three to four months of preparation, and finished in five years.
A book did not teach me any accounting. But one book, The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, changed how I organised those five years. This is what I took from it.
What the book is about
The idea is simple. Most of us try to make progress on everything at once, and end up making little progress on anything. The book argues that results come from narrowing your focus to the one thing that matters most right now, and protecting time for it every day.
At its centre is one question: what is the ONE thing I can do that would make everything else easier or unnecessary? You ask it about your year, your week and your morning.
Three lessons I actually used
1. Choose one goal for this season, and let other good things wait
The book says a perfectly balanced life is a myth. When you go after something big, other things have to wait for a while. That gave me permission I needed.
For those years, ACCA was my one thing. I paused other goals that mattered to me, including learning Arabic, which I consider important for every Muslim who wants to understand the Qur’an and act on it. Pausing it was not easy. But trying to do both properly would have meant doing neither well.
One thing I want to be clear about: I paused goals, not duties. Prayer, family and work stayed where they were. The book’s idea works for choosing between good projects. It is not a reason to neglect obligations.
2. Give your most important work your best hours
The book explains that willpower is strongest early and runs down through the day, so the most important work should come first. It also recommends blocking a fixed time for it, every day, before anything else can claim it.
My best hours were after Fajr. The house was quiet, my mind was fresh, and nothing from the office had reached me yet. I added a second block in the evening after work. Those two fixed times, every day, did more than any burst of motivation ever did. If you have read my study habits that outlast motivation, you will recognise the same idea: small, regular work beats occasional heroic effort.
3. Focus is also a way through hard times
This is the lesson I did not expect. During those years there were difficult times at home, and it is very hard to concentrate on study when your personal life is in trouble.
What helped was keeping the one thing in front of me. I told myself: this will pass. Be patient. Prepare properly and pass this exam. Having one clear task each morning kept me from overthinking what was happening around me. Looking back, it built a kind of resilience I still rely on.
What I would skip
The book is written from an American business setting, and some chapters lean heavily on business and sales success. You can read those quickly. And its talk of finding your “purpose” will feel familiar to a Muslim reader: our purpose is already given to us. What the book adds is a practical way to organise your days around what matters most.
Who should read it
- ACCA and other professional exam students, especially if you are studying alone or while working.
- IGCSE, O Level and A Level students who feel pulled in too many directions.
- Parents and small business owners trying to make progress on one big goal with very little free time.
My verdict
It is a short, clear book, and you can finish it in a weekend. It will not do the work for you. But if you are facing a long goal with limited time, it helps you decide what to protect and what to let wait. For me, that was the difference between starting ACCA and finishing it.
Today, with ACCA behind me, Arabic has its time again, and all praise is due to Allah, the Most High, I am learning. The goals you pause are not lost. They are waiting for their season.
If you are preparing for Accounting exams yourself, how to revise IGCSE and O Level Accounting sets out the revision method I teach my students.
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