This important concept is a metaphor, one that relates to activities or things that mean a lot to you versus the little things that usually preoccupy your mind. I’ll begin by explaining the Big Rocks — these refer to what’s most important and valuable to you. Without prioritizing your big rocks, they may never fall into place. You can be busy with random day-to-day activities (which are represented in the visual metaphor as pebbles and sand in your life) and your big rocks will be left unfinished, prohibiting you from feeling accomplished and fulfilled.
Picture This:
You and I are standing next to a table, and on this table is an empty glass jar, a large bag of sand, a small glass of pebbles, and several big rocks. Your goal is to get all of the materials into the glass jar, with nothing spilling out over the top. I pour the sand into the jar, which becomes about two-thirds full. Next, I add the pebbles, which only leaves about 2 inches at the top of the jar. “Your job,” I say, “is to try to get those big rocks in too.” You begin to try. The first big rock goes in fine. So does the second. But then you start meeting problems. The third rock won’t quite fit. You use the third big rock to hammer down the second rock just a little further. You hammer some more. Finally, there’s space. The third rock goes in. But what about the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, and so on? They are never going to fit!
In this analogy, the jar represents our lives and the time we have available. The pebbles and the sand represent all of those little things that compete for our attention on a daily basis. And the Big Rocks are those important things that are not necessarily urgent but still very important.
Let’s try this again. This time, I add the big rocks to the jar and they leave small spaces and crevices that will absorb the pebbles and allow the sand to fill in around any remaining open spaces in the jar. Now EVERYTHING fits into the jar. I didn’t give anything up, I just started with the Big Rocks and filled in with the pebbles and sand. Our daily lives work this way too!
Now the question you have to ask yourself is, “what are my Big Rocks”? If you do not consciously and consistently prioritize your big rocks, there is a good chance you won’t get to them because they are typically the type of activities that require planning and intentionality and can’t be done in a few minutes here and there. Don’t wait and think that your Big Rocks will fall in place by themselves.
Start to take action and build your daily and weekly schedule around your Big Rocks. Life can become a scramble for time, and there is never enough of it. Sometimes, being a school administrator feels a bit like this. You desperately want to prioritize the activities that matter most to students (Your Big Rocks), but you get called to “put out fires” or to engage in activities that have little or nothing to do with what is best for students (Your Pebbles and Sand). You spend each day in reaction mode, and at the end of the day you ask yourself what you actually accomplished that drove you to become a school administrator in the first place.
Focus on the Big Rocks and be sure that those get done each day. Then back-fill your days with the Pebbles and see how you can work with your team to accomplish these tasks. Lastly, take a look at the "sand” and ask yourself if there were tasks that could be forgone or delegated to someone else to free up the time you need to focus on the “Big Rocks and Pebbles”. By implementing the Big Rocks strategy, you can be more efficient and effective in your professional life.
For more information on strategies and support to help you regain control over your professional time, please visit timeredesigned.com
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