---
title: The Problem With One Donut | The Sales Blog
description: The decision to eat one donut isn’t often a decision to eat one donut. It’s a much bigger decision, with a much greater impact.
image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_280948424.jpg
---

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# The Problem With One Donut

![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg)

Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino)   
 August 30, 2015

The problem with eating one donut is that from that point forward, you give yourself permission to eat whatever you want. The day is already lost, so what’s the point of eating right the rest of the day?

The problem with opening Facebook and scrolling through the stream is that one link leads to the next link, and pretty soon [your quick check-in](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2015/08/18/concentrate-on-one-thing/) has stolen an hour of your time. There’s no reason to start anything else because you don’t have time before your conference call or meeting. You might as well hit Twitter while you’re browsing the Internet. Social is a donut.

The problem with leaving your email open is that the notification that you received a new email will take you away from what you are doing—or what you should be doing. You might intend to take a quick look to make sure it isn’t something important, but before you know it you’re responding to some [relatively unimportant email](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/03/20/how-to-stop-living-in-your-inbox/). Ten minutes in, you might as well finish writing the response, right? Email is a donut.

The problem with the water cooler chatter is that there are so many things you want to share and so many things your peer group wants to share with you. There just isn’t [enough time](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2015/07/06/you-are-working-part-time/). That one comment about the sporting event or the new hot Sunday night television show turns into 20 minutes. Not enough time to start the project that needs your attention. The water cooler is a box of donuts.

The decision to eat one donut isn’t often a decision to eat one donut. It’s a much bigger decision, with a greater impact.

###### Tags:

[Productivity](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/productivity) [2015](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2015)

Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino)  on August 30, 2015

 Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg)

Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success.

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