Time Management and Your Big Rocks
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In Steven Covey's excellent book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (which, incidentally, is exactly why I am here today and not stuck in my old corporate job - another day, perhaps), he tells a well-worn story about the use of time.
In the story, some professor guy (I think) stands at the front of a class, with a big jar. In the jar, first of all he puts some big rocks, and asks the class, "Is it full now".
Mostly they say, "Yes".
Then he gets some smaller rocks and these fit in quite nicely too, just between the big rocks. Again, he asks the same question, "Is it full now?"
The group, a little more suspicious say, "Yes", because it seems to be.
He then gets out a bag of sand and surprise, surprise, those tiny grains of sand squeeze down beside the smaller rocks, filling up the tinier spaces. "Full?", he asks.
"Sure", say the increasingly dubious bunch of students in the audience.
Finally, trump card is the water, smaller than sand, of course and finally, as we aren't getting too sub-molecular about it, the jar is full.
Impressive huh?
The professor then asks,
"What's the moral of the story?"
.Of course the class, thinking they've spotted the trick here, say,
"You can always squeeze a bit more in"
A standard and pretty smart reply. The professor, however, is a step a head (all that professorism does it, of course!).
"The moral of the story is that you need to get your big rocks in first, or all that other 'stuff' gets in, way too soon and takes up all the space."
Cool story?
The point of course, relates to managing your time.
What are your 'big rock' things?
Well, for sure it isn't all the little jobs you do. All the fire-fighting (or it may be in the short-term, but that is another day).
The trick is to create spaces, ring-fenced, as they say, to do the good stuff.
In business, this is a list something like this:-
1. Planning for the future
2. Time with your people - good, focused one-on-one time preferably
3. Coaching your people in their work
4. Developing others around you
5. Delegating constructively
6. Creating Succession Plans
7. Building relationships
8. Developing new business opportunities
9. Fixing problems once and for all
10. Making time for a life outside the business
Covey and his big rocks eh?
He calls them Quadrant Two activities. If you don't spend time putting these first into your schedule, truth is, you will never fit them in and things will never evolve and grow.
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Free PDF Download 7 Easy Tips For Better Communication at Work - By Martin Haworth |
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About the Author: Martin Haworth RSS for Martin's articles - Visit Martin's website © 2013 Martin Haworth is a business and management coach and trainer, working worldwide with SMEs & corporates and based in the UK. He has extensive experience in the delivery of one- and two-day training programs on a whole range of tactical management skills to be found at the workshops we do as well as supporting other organisations as a relaibel and resourceful associate. He is an expert on Family Businesses, helping business owners and their families effectively manage succession to future generations and balance the demands of family and other stakeholders with an effective focus on the business. To find out more checkout his website at Coach Train Learn! Click here to visit Martin's website. Employee Success 7 Ways Feedback Works Business Efficiency Three Small And Very Effective Tips Build Employee Relationships To Manage Change Effectively Managing Others Effectively By Asking More 10 Fast Steps To Networking Heaven |
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