Stephen Covey tells the story in First Things First [affiliate link] of attending a seminar, in which the instructor pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar. He sat it on the table next to some fist-sized rocks.
“How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?” he asked.
The students made various guesses. The instructor then proceeded to fill the jar with the rocks. It looked like it was full. He asked the class, “Is this jar full?” Everyone looked at the jar and agreed that it was indeed full.
He then reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He then dumped the gravel into the jar. The gravel went in between all the little places left by the big rocks.
Then he grinned and once more asked, “Is the jar full?” By this time, the class was on to him. “Probably not,” several of the students said.
“Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He poured it into the jar. It went into all the spaces left by the big rocks and the gravel. Again, he asked the class, “Is this jar full?”
“No,” the class shouted.
He said, “Good!” He then grabbed a pitcher of water and poured almost a quart of water into the jar. Then he said, “What’s the point?”
Someone said, “If you really work at it, you can always squeeze more stuff into your life.”
“No,” the instructor responded. “That’s not the point. The point is this: if you hadn’t put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?”
I would make an additional point. The big rocks are a metaphor for the important stuff. If you don’t make room for the important stuff, it will be overwhelmed by the less important stuff.
With this in mind, I decided last week that I wanted to plan out the next three years. I am not talking about all the little details. My life is too dynamic for that to work. But I wanted to make sure that I scheduled the most important things, so that I wasn’t overwhelmed by the urgent.
I decided I would “put the big rocks” into my calendar for the next three years. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good tool to do this with.
What I really wanted to see was the whole year at a glance. Unfortunately, Entourage for Mac doesn’t offer this kind of view. The most you can see is a one-month view. The same is true of Outlook for Windows.
So, I created an Annual Time Block Tool in Excel. I have included my own calendar as an example with a blank sheet, which you can copy. You can enter the year you want to schedule in cell A5, and the calendar will automatically recalculate. It even takes into account leap years.
I began by scheduling the most non-discretionary things and moving to the most discretionary things. So I scheduled in this order:
- Company Holidays
- Church Holidays
- Industry Events
- Vacations
- Board Meetings
- Business Review Meetings
- Special Trips
- Time with Friends
Your list may differ. The issue is to grab the dates while you can before someone else does. Frankly, I would rather have other people plan around my priorities than be forced to plan around theirs. Remember: if you don’t have a plan for your life, someone else does.
The key is balance. Make sure you schedule time for the things that are important to you. If you don’t, you will find yourself scrambling to find time for the things that are important. If you are not careful, you will wake up one day and discover that you have spent your life living for other people’s priorities.
Building Champions has been coaching me since 2002. They have taught me to be more proactive and intentional in both my business and personal life. Visit their Web site to learn more and see their special offer for my blog readers.
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Awesome post Mike! Thanks for sharing your Excel document! This is invaluable. I’m just now finally reading Brian Tracy’s book “Goals” and this correlates very well with that book. Gracias!
Mike, I can’t tell you how often I have to continue to dodge the “tyranny of the urgent” when I don’t do as you suggest by scheduling out my great/important things first. When I do schedule them out I find it so much easier to say no or yes when people ask for my time. I am still learning the lesson the hard way 70 % of the time. Thanks for the reminder.
@johnflurry
Mike, thanks for sharing this with all. Great tool and one that will help me again and again.
This is an amazing tool. Can’t wait to put my own events in it. Thanks.
I was instintly motivated by this post, as I always am when I visit your blog. And I had even heard the story of the rocks, gravel, sand, water before! A testament to your excellent application.
I love how you share leadership with others. I aspire to do likewise. Thanks for challenging me.
Mike,
Thanks for the tool and strategy. I’m on a mission to live as intentionally as I can this year. This will definitely help.
Thanks!
kyle
Thanks Mike,
A happy new year to you and yours, I hope and pray your efforts continue to inspire others as they have me.
I am a mechanic and appreciate a new tool to take lead in our lives.
Make it a great year. jro
Thanks for sharing this calendar! I will make use of it right away. FYI, it was retweeted on Twitter by a friend of mine. Thanks again.
Mr.Michael….thank you for putting up this great blog of yours… I have not made any new year resolutions as such but after reading this post i think..no, make that i now KNOW that i have one now..This year i’m gonna start with the “big rocks”..
Thanks Mike.
In Australia we use beer instead of water :-). Many Thanks for your Blogg. Excellent reading and priceless wisdom
Mike
Once again I find that your blog is closely paralleling other very important things that are happening in my own life.
“First things first” may mean something totally different to each of us…but for me it means this:
I must continue to give God the first part of every day of my life…or else…someone or something else will sneak in very quietly and take control of my entire day.
Even today at 3am I was tempted to turn on the laptop and start my “business” day first. But that small still voice stopped me and saved me from this critical error.
“Get the Word in first…and then mix a good dose of prayer…and then start adding those other “big rocks.”
I know what the true “big rocks” are in my life…The word and prayer.
All else is really just sand in comparison.
Thanks again for the timely word.
Michael, THANK YOu for this wonderful gift!
Thanks for the inspiring post. I love the illustration of the jar, and I use it with the kids I teach. In fact, I’ve been writing about in my own small newsletter and blog:
http://www.richdixon.net/
Newsletters/Newsletter_current.htm
With your permission, I’ll post a link so my readers can take advantage of your wonderful calendar tool.
If anyone has this in a blank form, I’d love to have a copy!
ENJOY your blog every time!
(One possible correction on this post, though: “The point is this: if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you won’t get the other stuff in at all.” I think you mean “The point is this: if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you won’t get THEM in at all.” Yes? The rest of your post seems to make this point.)
Thanks for the reminder and for the tool. I pray for discernment to know which ones are the big rocks. I’ve been known to see gravel as the big rocks and short-change myself.
You totally rock, Mike.
What takes up too much of my time and keeps me from focusing on things I really need to do is blogging–mostly reading other people’s blogs, and trying to keep my own from getting too stale. So can you tell me where, in your list, you would put blogging?
@Vicki,
Honestly, blogging is not a “big rock.” I give it time as I am able. It may be different for you, depending on your profession.
Thanks,
Mike
Wow. Thanks for sharing this with us. Great motivation.
Jo
Mr. Hyatt,
Your post arrived at an opportune time for me; right when I’m working my way through DA’s “Making It All Work” book [a book to savor], trying to do some higher-level planning, and looking to make some system refinements. Certainly one category of “big rocks” would be the few to several significant objectives of “the 90-day challenge”; another one of your concepts I’ve found to be tremendously useful. And since each quarter of your Annual Time Block prints out on one page, I’m thinking of adding space for the list of 90-day challenge objectives somewhere; the few to several for the current quarter, and one or two or three for subsequent quarters with more to be added as they become better defined. Perhaps even place milestones and make a rough schedule of those weeks when I intend to work on them.
Always appreciate your posts about living life with purpose. Thank you.
I’ve heard this rock analogy before. Great visual with such truth. Now to determine what my big rocks are for this year…
I’ve heard this metaphor often, but I like that you added a tool! I’ve also been mentored to look 3 years into the future and block in those important knowns. So far, I finished my first year. It takes some pondering to plan but I feel much more prepared already.
Angie
I confess…when I started reading, I thought…oh no, not that illustration again. I zoned out until the application. I created an editorial calendar to organize my writing life, but I love your Excel document. Thanks for an inspiring post and a great gift!
Hi Michael,
Love the big rock image – I’ve often recommended this type of activity to clients who are overwhelemed by all the things they have to do, and tend to overlook their most important priorities; but never created a tool to help them actualize that -thanks!
I agree with Maurilio, you have to figure out what your big rocks are first. Looking at your own values is a great place to start sorting that out.
Thanks again for a great read, useful tool and tapping into a subject that’s so vitally important.
Dear Michael,
Thank you for the formatted spreadsheet. As a strong adherent of Dr. Charles Hobbs and his Time Power system, I do all my daily, weekly and monthly planning in my Day Timer paper planner. That being said, I never really do any yearly blocking out of time. However, many of my intermediate term goals (the next 2-3) should have blocks of time alloted to them, to ease up potential scheduling overload in the future. I can see how this technique could really empower me to better reach my goals.
Now I consider myself quite a computer savvy guy. However, I must admit that I never thought about just formatting an excel file to do the job! I plan on transferring my intermediate & long term goals (both with my business and my family/personal life) onto your template this PM, and tonight begin working on 2010 & 2011 with my wife.
Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Mike
Thank you very much for the information. Very useful!
Hi Mike,
As always, brilliant and amazing wisdom. Thanks for sharing your valuable life tools with the world. I was a bit surprised to see only one weekend a month dedicated to family or friends. Do you have a standing weekly date or time with your wife?
I’d love to know how you keep your marriage strong while accomplishing everything else you manage! Thanks for sharing as always.
Ron
@Ron,
My one weekend a month dedicated to friends is actually a dinner party at our home. It requires prior planning and is very intentional. However, we get together with friends every weekend and sometimes during the week on an impromptu basis. We have a very rich social life.
The same is true of my marriage. I have certain things like vacation that must be planned out and coordinated. But, as nearly empty nesters, Gail and I eat dinner together almost every night. Friday is our standard “date night,” but this can fluctuate based on our circumstances. For example, she is going to be out of town this Friday night, so we went out for dinner last night.
I hope that helps.
Thanks,
Mike
Thank you so much for this excellent gift! I’ve used the story of the jar as an object lesson! Very effective and I enjoy it every time. The commenter who wanted a blank copy needs to look again and see your blank template! I nearly missed it too!
Excellent!
Thanks so much for the calendar too – I’m sending thisl link out to my friends right now!
My Father took great pride all his life in creating tools and widgets to do a specific job, or to manage various aspects of his life. Not only am I using this for myself, but I am sharing this with him. I thinks it’s great, and I know he he will agree! Thanks!
GREAT tool! I *love* Excel. …maybe *too* much.
Teensy bug though. I fiddled with a couple leap years in A5 and it kept moving the last day of any month after January to the *next* month. (I’m using Excel 2003 in WinXP [SP2] on a MacBook Pro, if it matters.) I wish I knew Excel well enough to fix it myself.
You are clearly a master of the art, sir. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge AND practical tools for applying it.
Thanks for the advice Mike.
Unfortunately I am unable to open the xcel sheet.
Any advice??
I appreciate the article. Can you give directions on how to access the excel tool?
When I click on the link to your "Annual Time Block Tool", I get this message: "Oops! This link appears broken." I'd love to have access to your excel spreadsheet.
Great post and calendar. Having a long term plan and outlook it essential for making best use of your time.
Michael,
Thanks for sharing this insight and this tool that you created. We (the ministry staff) took the spreadsheet and have now been planning more than 1 year out. Know that your tool is having an impact on one ministry team and a church in Texas.
Grace & Peace
Scott
Scott, this is so encouraging. Thanks for sharing with me.
wow…thanks for this. You just saved my sanity!!!
"if you don’t have a plan for your life, someone else does." – how true is this!!
Mike,
Thanks for sharing. This came just in time. I'm working through the same process right now, and was just considering creating something in Excel for the same reasons you described.
You've saved me some much-needed time.
Totally just watched Bill Hybels teach and use this illustration (stones and sand) at willowcreek.org in his message "The Forgotten Way" Hmmm.. maybe the Lord is trying to teach me something.
Great tool. I made three modifications to this that others may find useful. First, I aligned the days of the week horizontally (so that all of the Mondays in a quarter show up in the same line). I realize that the dates at the beginning of the month or end of the month end up being in the wrong column (e.g., August 31 may actually show up in the September column), but being able to see the days of the week aligned far outweighs that.
Secondly, I formatted the cells to "wrap text". Just a simple way to give myself more room on a line if I need it (without having to add in another row).
Finally, because of the wrap text feature, I decided to put each quarter on a seperate Excel tab. That way, if I have a row whose height is 4 lines tall (for example), it only affects that row in that quarter and not all the rows in other quarters. This might not make sense unless you you are more than a novice at Excel.
Overall, great help. Thanks for sharing.
Great post-How long did it take to get this mapped out? a day? or two?
thanks for the help.