Prioritisation: Protect Your Big Rocks
Time Management
You may well have heard the Big Rocks Theory before [1]. A philosophy lecturer at a university is giving a pre-exam lecture on time management. On his desk there is a bag of sand, a bag of pebbles, some big rocks, and a glass jar.
He asks for a volunteer to put all the three grades of stone into the jar and a keen student steps up to carry out the task, starting with the sand, then the pebbles, then the rocks, which, unsurprisingly, do not all fit in the bucket.
“There is an analogy of poor time management”, informs the lecturer. “The rocks represent key projects you want to accomplish, key goals you want to achieve, and priority activities which are important to your long-term wellbeing. By completing your smallest tasks first, you risk spending so much time on them you leave yourself unable to complete your really important tasks satisfactorily. I would have put the rocks in first, then the pebbles then the sand all three would have fit.”
In a work context, the jar represents your work day or work week. Like time, once it is full, no more can be put in. The sand is the tiny small things you do all day – the quick email someone asked you for, the colleague who stops by your desk for a chat, the many distractions you face all day. The pebbles are the non-urgent tasks and regular meetings which can easily erode the time you have in a day.
By giving all your time to the sand and the pebbles, there is little time left for the really important stuff, and you might find yourself continually shifting important tasks to the next day. Or worse, taking it home, at the expense of time with your loved ones and your own wellbeing!
Moral of the story is to always put your big rocks first, otherwise the less important things – the pebbles, sand and water – will take over.
Being rigorous about planning weekly and acting daily can help to prioritise and focus on your Big Rocks:
Plan Weekly:
Pause once a week to plan for the following week e.g. allocate ½ hour Friday pm
Identify your Big Rocks (key tasks) for the week ahead (3 ideal, 5 maximum)
Schedule time in your diary for your Big Rocks – use colour coding to identify as Prime Time in your diary
Be realistic about the time it will take for key tasks
Act Daily:
When it comes to the scheduled time, stay focussed on your Big Rocks regardless of the noise around you. In the words of Nike “Just Do It”.
Avoid/turn off, where possible, the inevitable distractions of emails, interruptions, noisy offices etc, so you can focus 100%.
Respect and protect this time in the same way you would protect a client meeting.