Big Rock Theory

You may have seen the demonstration from a stage. A speaker shows you a large, empty jar. Next to the jar you see several containers with the following contents: large rocks, small rocks, sand, and water. The speaker pours the water into the large jar, then the sand, and then the small rocks. By the time he is done there is no room for the large rocks. Then he starts again with an empty jar. This time he puts the big rocks in first, then the small rocks, then the sand, then the water. And everything fits.

The demonstration is designed, of course, to point out the importance of determining your most important priorities. When you are planning your week or your day you can begin with the big rocks first, before you fill the time with urgent but unimportant tasks.

What are your ‘big rock’ priorities? What do you put under the category of important, not just urgent? Top professionals pay attention to those activities that have the greatest potential for payoff. They pay attention to their big rocks.

What are yours?