Welcome to One Shift Tuesday.
I’m glad you’re here.
Every Tuesday, I’ll send you one practical shift you can use to win at work. Each issue will help you see three things: the present game many people are playing, the new game that can produce a different result, and one move you can try right away.
But don’t just accept the idea.
Use it. Test it. Question it. Even this email.
That is the point of One Shift Tuesday. When you are playing to win, you don’t collect ideas. You use plays.
And the first play is this: Question the game.
Have you ever tried to get better and still felt stuck?
You read more. You watched more. You attended another training. You added another app, another habit, another morning routine, and another item on your to-do list. You became more serious, but the result did not move much.
I think of Rico.
Rico is a team lead in a growing company. People like him because he is helpful, hardworking, and responsible. When there is a problem, Rico shows up. When someone needs support, Rico says yes.
Every Monday, he tells himself, “This week, I will be better.”
So he answers faster, joins more meetings, checks on more people, adds more reminders, and works late to catch up. For a while, it feels like progress because his inbox is cleaner, his calendar is full, and his checklist has more ticks.
But the real work still moves slowly.
His team is still unclear. Decisions still wait. Important work still depends too much on him. Rico is improving, but he is improving the game that keeps him tired.
The Game That Asks for More
The present game is easy to recognize because it always asks for more.
Do more. Learn more. Add more. Say yes more. Attend more. Answer faster. Carry harder. Stay longer.
This game feels noble because effort is easy to admire. Nobody gets blamed for working hard. But effort can also become a beautiful trap when it keeps you busy without moving the result.
You can become 1% better every day at staying busy. You can become better at carrying work that should not be yours. You can become better at saying yes to tasks that do not move the work that matters.
That is why “better” can be dangerous.
Better sounds good. But better at the wrong game still gives you the wrong prize.
The Game That Asks What to Remove
A new game begins with a tougher question:
What can I remove, question, or change so the result becomes easier to produce?
That question feels different because it does not ask you to add another habit. It asks you to question the work itself.
It does not ask you to prove that you are hardworking. It asks you to find the few moves that create the result. It does not ask, “How can I do more?” It asks, “How can I produce 10x with less waste?”
That is a Play to Win question because it challenges more than your schedule. It challenges your habits, services, pricing, meetings, commitments, and the beliefs you keep protecting.
Maybe the next level of your work will not come from adding more. Maybe it will come from removing the work that steals your best hours.
Maybe your income will not grow because you sell more services. Maybe it will grow because you stop selling effort and start selling a result people value more.
Maybe your happiness will not grow because you squeeze more into your week. Maybe it will grow because you finally remove what keeps draining your life.
That is the new game.
Not more. Different.
The One Question Before You Add
Here is your move for this week.
Before you add one more task, habit, tool, meeting, course, or commitment, ask:
“Am I adding more to the present game, or making room for a new game?”
Use that question before you say yes. Use it before you join another meeting. Use it before you work late again. Use it before you add another goal.
And yes, use it on this email too.
Do not ask only, “Do I like this idea?” Ask, “Can I use this play?”
Because One Shift Tuesday is not for collecting nice thoughts. It is for people who want to win at work.
So test the play today.
Choose one thing you are trying to improve. Then ask:
“What should I remove, question, or change so I can produce a bigger result with less waste?”
That is enough for today.
Question the game. Make room for a new one.
Jef Menguin