If you can just do one thing … do just one thing

The past month has been a whirlwind for me. I’ve been teaching at one school (North Greenville University) while moving my family to prepare to teach at another (Emory & Henry College). At the same time, I’ve been trying to sell a house and finalize a dissertation proposal. As if that weren’t enough, there’s a little thing called “Advising Students in a Wireless World” Aug. 3-4 in Washington, D.C. that I’m organizing, and - oh, yeah - I’m trying to keep abreast of the changing face of the media landscape.

I say this not to delve too deeply into personal issues, but because the last month has brought home one solid truth that is irrefutable: The pace of change happening in the media world right now is breathtaking. I leave the blogging environment for a couple of days and come back to find that 10 things have come up that are worthy of notice.

And I like to consider myself somewhat “up-to-date” on things new media. I can imagine what this might seem like to someone who doesn’t spend several hours a week pouring over the Internet looking for material like this.

A couple of times, I almost got to the point where I was overwhelmed with the tsunami of change taking place.

But in the midst of these moments of panic, I re-learned something that would serve us all as we plot our courses into the future of news: If you can just do one thing … do one thing, and do it well.

We can’t allow ourselves to get so overwhelmed with the pace of change that we become immobilized by the sheer volume of change that is taking place.

If you ever find that happening, just find one area to focus on. Maybe for your media it’s social networking (fostering comments and a community among users). Maybe it’s a fresh site design, with new navigation (c.f. savannahnow). Maybe it’s audio slideshows (with soundslides). Maybe it’s a full-on Flash multimedia story. Could be a Google Map initiative (a la Chicagocrime.org). Perhaps it’s just finding a way to incorporate hyperlinks into your online stories.

Whatever you are doing in the new media arena, there is something you can add to your site. Find one thing and resolve to start there for this school year. If you’re an adviser, this would be a good place to meet with your student leaders.

Close the door to the meeting room and ask the old Microsoft question: “Where do you want to go today?” Do it soon. Before you know it, the semester will begin and everyone will be too busy to start something new.

If you’re a student reading this, this would be a good place to set up a meeting with your adviser for a little advance planning and coordination.

Next semester, perhaps next year, you can move on to another new project. By then, hopefully, you’ll be proficient in the project you began this year.

Do one thing … and do it well. And let us know how you’re doing.

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