In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of busyness without productivity. It feels impossible to focus on what matters most. 

You’re so busy and distracted, constantly rushing from one task to another, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things on your to-do list. Yet, at the end of the day, you might wonder why you haven’t made any meaningful progress toward your goals or why you feel unfulfilled despite your packed schedule. 

All this busyness is exhausting and literally gets you nowhere.It takes a toll on your mental and physical well-being. You might feel stressed, anxious, and burnt out, as you struggle to keep up with the demands of your busy schedule. 

It’s like being stuck in a cycle of never-ending busyness, where you’re always racing against the clock but never quite reaching the finish line.

It’s time to schedule your priorities. Do not prioritize your schedule.

This means you take that one thing, that project, that goal, whatever is the most important thing for you to accomplish in this season and you schedule it on your calendar. 

You don’t try to squeeze it in around all the other busy things – those fake productivity things. You can’t accomplish your number one priority by stuffing it into all the nooks and crannies of your day.

When you schedule it first, you make sure you spend time on what matters most. 

“Reality forms around commitment.”

Marie Forleo

Trust me. All those other busy things will get done too. 

I love the Rocks, Pebbles, Sand story that goes like this.

A professor pulled out a mason jar and filled it with big rocks. He asked his students, “Tell me, is this jar full?” They all replied a big yes. 

He then added pebbles in the mason jar. He asked the students again if the jar was full and they all agreed yes. He then added sand that filled in all the remaining space in the jar. Again the students agreed it was full.

Then the professor dumped everything out and started over with an empty mason jar. This time he started with the sand and filled the jar.

There was no room for the pebbles or the rocks to fit in.

And he explained to his students:

This mason jar is the time each of us has in a day.

The big rocks are the huge important things in your life. The rocks represent the BIG things in your life – what you will value at the end of your life – your family, your partner, your health, fulfilling your hopes and dreams. Put them in first.

The pebbles are the next important things that matter, that you must fit in.  These are  things in your life that give it meaning, like your job, your house, your hobbies, your friendships.

The sand is the meaningless minutiae and distractions of life. It’s the ‘small stuff’ that fills our time, like watching TV or scrolling social media” Put that in last.

Think about it. 

“Big Rocks First” is the idea that when you do your most important priorities first, the smaller things (the pebbles and the sand) will naturally fill in around it. However, if you prioritize small things first (like chores and admin tasks), there will never be enough room for your big rocks.

S T E P 1 : Identify your big rocks.

What are the big rocks in your life? Your health? A creative project? Maybe it’s more consistent quality time with your loved ones. Write down what you will commit to put first in your calendar.

Whatever your Big Rocks are, you’ve got to schedule them into your calendar first.

YOU ALWAYS HAVE TIME FOR WHAT YOU PUT FIRST!

STEP 2: Define your sand.

What’s currently taking up so much room that it’s preventing you from putting those big rocks first? List all the sand that eats away at your day so that you can become more aware of habits that don’t serve you.

If you know that email is a big source of sand, you can put new systems in place so that you don’t even check your email until after you’ve tackled your big rocks!

The goal is to eliminate the sand, AKA minutia in your life. Here’s some ways you can do that:

• When you get asked to do something remember: If it’s not a Hell Yes! Then it’s a Hell No!
• Don’t subscribe to things that require your ongoing attention or involvement.
• Only check email once a day.
• Stay off social media. Or if you need it for your business, make a commitment to only be on to create not to consume. 
• Maybe agree with friends and family to not exchange gifts for birthdays or holidays and instead commit to spending time together instead. 

Constantly be working on stripping away things that don’t really matter.

S T E P 3 : Choose ONE change you can make, right now, to prioritize your big rocks.

For example, if your #1 primary project is to finish your book, but you keep getting sucked into social media, you might instead spend 30 minutes each morning writing before even touching your phone. 

What are the Big Rocks in your life right now?

Is it your health? A project around the house? That book you’ve been wanting to write? That business you want to start?

More often than not, your big rocks are things you’re excited about. You have great energy and enthusiasm about them. When you start your day focused on your big rocks, that positive energy stays with you all day – even when you’re focused on all the pebbles that don’t light you up so much.