Without realizing it I’ve become somewhat of a 1-pager collector over the years.

College midterm prep. Productivity guidelines. Exercise & diet cheat sheets. Business strategy from famous entrepreneurs. Dataset overviews. Startup executive summaries. I was looking back through my physical / digital filing cabinets I have dozens of them:

There are plenty of ways to convey a given concept. Most of them are kinda sh*t.

Pitch decks and presentations are dramatic exercises in vanity (ask Jeff Bezos about this). Textbooks are overkill, predicated on cheating students out of a few hundred bucks. Blog posts and Twitter threads are unruly and annoying and often written to cheat their respective algorithms into clicks (not this one ofc). Video is fun but you’ll have to write down the important parts anyway.

I’d argue anything concept worth remembering can/should be conveyed in 1 page.

The beauty of 1-pagers is in their natural constraints. 8.5×11” of page is precisely enough room to rigorously fit the most important aspects of a given concept worth noting without going into too much detail. And it works for pretty much anything.

Compact. Versatile. Brutally efficient. That’s the beauty.

Something that I can hang on my wall or put in a filing cabinet next to my desk for easy access. All of the information you need, right there in plain view — no scrolling no watching or next slide or flip the page necessary.

It’s become something of a lost art form in the digital age of printer-obsolescence. Older generations may take for granted just how good they had it when printing off beautiful 1-pagers was more common.

Of course just because the format lends itself to these superior virtues doesn’t mean all 1-pagers are good. There are plenty of bad 1-pagers — I have written a few of them myself. So what’s makes things actually work? Let’s dissect:

Writing Good 1-Pagers

The best of the best nail a few core elements:

First, they’re ruthlessly clear about their purpose. ex: Sam Altman’s “Guide to Building a Startup” - it opens with a simple litmus test: “What you need to maximize startup success: 1) a great idea 2) a great product 3) a great team and 4) great execution”. No fluff, just critical path. Plus, I love a good litmus.

Second, they use visual hierarchy like a freakin’ weapon. One of my personal favorites is our Uptrends consumer app acquisition sheet, to be honest, because it does a great job of breaking info into clear sections — heads, sub-points, supporting detail. My eyes know exactly where to go, whether it’ the first time you read it or you’re referring back to something specific.

Third, they eliminate everything without explicit purpose. The best one pagers give you exactly what you need and no more. The slow carb diet sheet I made (shown above) is actually derived from Tim Ferriss’ original in the 4-Hour Chef, but slimmed down even further to cut out the fluff; it’s all I need. I credit Steve Jobs with one of my favorite quotes: “Simplicity is the highest form of sophistication” — I try to live by it.

Some patterns I've noticed from the best examples:

• They start with a clear "why this matters" statement

• They group related information into a few distinct sections

• They use bullet points / numbered lists strategically (not as a crutch)

• There’s enough white space for breathability

• Most important: they have specific, actionable next steps

If I were to sum it all up into a singular standard operation procedure, here would be my one-pager on how to write a good one-pager:

I reserve the right to refine this ^ but for now this is my best attempt after combing through some of my favorites.

A particular favorite example is Marc Andreessen's productivity guide. It doesn't just list random tips - it creates a complete system that fits together. Like each section builds on the last, from daily planning rituals to email management to deep work protocols.

But here's the thing about making great ones: you have to be willing to kill your darlings.

It’s not about how much information you can cram into a page (see some of my college midterm examples above). It’s about how much you can leave out while still conveying the complete picture. Like a Picasso abstract.

Ask: "What's the one thing someone needs to understand, and what directly supports that understanding?" Everything else is noise. In many ways like driving a car is better with a map than an almanac. The best ones don’t try to tell you everything, they simply convey exactly what you need to know.

So hopefully this is a little bit useful. If it was, I’d love to hear — do you have any favorite one pagers?

Cheers,
Ramsey