Rocks and Sand Planning

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A few years ago, I felt the quiet yet clear words to “Put the big rocks in first.”  Of course, this message came in around 3:28 AM in between sleep cycles but I have remembered the direction and how it applied to my life at the time. Like the story lesson we are familiar with, putting the big rocks in first still allows plenty of room for sand and water to fill in the spaces.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find it a lot easier to keep reaching for the sand first. Checking Facebook instead of settling in to write for instance. Researching fun places to visit when a work project is due is another sand over rocks choice. Guilty.

Early in the month, when I was writing my daily to-do list, I realized each day’s list has both “rocks and sand” on it. Rocks: write, meet with clients, plan a retreat, make a budget. Sand: pick up a library book, catch up on blogs I like, purchase tickets for an event, locate a missing book.

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Some rocks are quite big!

So, for the last week or so I have been labeling each item on the daily list by assigning it an R or S. Simple but very effective for planning how to use the available time each day. I guess it is a variation of the ABC method for prioritizing but I like “rocks and sand” better!

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Some sand is very fun!

Do you know what your rocks and sand are these days?

Hope for the best,

Tish