We live in a world where everyone is busy but not necessarily productive on the things that matter.
This describes my life for more years than I'd like to admit...not all that different from admitting why you’re really reading this blog post :)
I may not be the most productive person in the world, but I'm light years ahead of where I was previously.
Recently, I spent 16 hours in Zoom workshops with 50 other business owners all over the country. Our last exercise is by far my personal favorite as this helps me gain incredible clarity and get my rocks off my to-do list.
Chances are you’ve heard this story before. I urge you to read this again to see how we applied the concept.
Rocks, Pebbles, & Sand
A high school teacher stood before his class
with some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly he picked up
a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two
inches in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was
full.
They agreed that it was full.
So the professor then picked up a box of
pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly and watched as the
pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
The professor then asked the students again
if the jar was full.
They chuckled and agreed that it was indeed
full this time.
The professor picked up a box of sand and
poured it into the jar.
The sand filled the remaining open areas of
the jar.
The rocks are the truly important
things.
The pebbles are the other things that matter.
The sand signifies the remaining “small
stuff”. If you put sand into the jar
first, there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles.
If you spend all your time and energy on the
small stuff, you’ll never have room for the things that are truly important.
During our workshop, we applied this concept to our
respective businesses and defined “rocks” as projects that would require
significant effort but could be accomplished within 3 to 4 months.
We then took 15 minutes to perform a “brain dump” of all
the projects we wanted to implement within our businesses.
From there, we went through the process of “Kill, Keep or
Combine” to reduce our priorities to the 3 to 5 rocks that if completed, would
leave us happy with our progress if all other projects weren’t completed.
Having to present your final rocks to the group provides
excellent feedback and leaves you with amazing clarity on what needs to get
done.
Now it’s my job to get my rocks off my to-do list.
Hopefully you can use this exercise to gain clarity and
increase productivity in some area of your life.
No Limits Fitness provides step-by-step programs to help busy adults get the body they’ve always wanted, without restrictive diets or time-consuming workouts, so they can lead more fulfilling lives. Life is a much better experience in a strong, healthy body!
No Limits Fitness helps busy professionals lose weight, get stronger and have more energy so they can lead the lives of their dreams...even if they've tried before and failed.
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