I love telling this story, and no matter how many times you may have heard it, it always merits repeating because it challenges us to take stock of our lives and make sure we have our priorities straight.
A college chemistry professor always started out his freshman classes with a little object lesson. In front of the class, he would take an empty beaker and fill it with large rocks. He would then ask the class if the beaker was full. The class, seeing the spaces separating the rocks, would always say no. He would then add pea gravel to the beaker, and shake it really well. Now, is the beaker full? Most of the students would still say no, not really. He would then pour sand into the beaker, shaking and adding again and again until the sand had filled in all the spaces right up to the lip of the beaker. How about now? Some students would now say yes, but a few were still skeptical, so he would then take a pitcher of water and slowly pour it into the beaker. Surprisingly, he could usually still get about a half cup of water into the beaker. NOW, is it finally full? Yes, everyone in the class agreed that it seemed to be finally full.
“And what does this teach us?” the professor would ask. Some bright, eager student would almost always answer: “This proves that no matter how full a space seems, there is still always room for matter to adapt to that space and squeeze more in.” “No,” the professor would say, “the point is that your lives have a limited amount of space. You must make sure to get in all your big rocks – your important priorities--first. Otherwise, your life will be filled with small, trivial matters that don’t really bring you what you want or need.”
And that is the secret of time management, in a nutshell. Your schedule and your life are finite–they are inevitably going to be completely filled up by something. Exceptional time management skills can help ensure that none your important, high-value items get left out. The secret of time management, then, is to first identify those goals and activities that should be classified as “big rocks.” What is really important to you in life? I am not just talking about at work; I am talking about your LIFE. Time management isn’t about being able to get more stuff done on the job; it is about deciding what is really important to you and focusing on accomplishing those things no matter where or what they are. How do you go about identifying those BIG priorities?
I am not the one to decide what should be truly important and valuable to you; only you can do that. If you don’t already know the answers, I can suggest that you start by setting up a simple chart by taking a blank piece of paper and drawing a line right down the middle. Now set up a basic set of contradictory options on either side of that line, something like this (be sure and leave space for writing ideas under each pair): This is what I want/This is what I don’t want – This is what I like/This is what I don’t like – This is what I need/This is what I don’t need – This is where I want to be in five years/This is where I don’t want to be in five years. You can set up as many of these pairs as you want. Next, go back and fill in the space under each pair with the goals you want to achieve and the outcomes you DON’T want to be stuck with! The column on the left becomes your list of Big Rocks.
Next, you need to develop a plan for collecting those Big Rocks. The S.M.A.R.T. plan has always worked for me. SMART is an acronym for Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Specific. It looks like this:
S Specific – Keep your goal definitions short and simple. Use clear, concise language and avoid jargon.
M Measurable – “Solving customer problems” is a perfectly useless goal. However, “To respond to 10 % of the negative items on the market survey by July 1st,” is a clear goal. “10 %” is a measurable quantity, and July 1st is a clear date for evaluation. Therefore, you will know immediately if you have met your goals or not.
A Achievable – Goals should be reflect your level of control over the situation. “To keep customer complaints at zero,” may not be achievable because you may not have complete control in your situation.
R Realistic – Individual goals should be focused and not too broad. “To decrease repeat call frequency by 20 % by October 1st through activities like returning all customer calls during off-time,” is a focused goal.
T Time-specific – Create a time frame within which each goal will be completed. A deadline can create the necessary energy to complete a task.
HINT: Be sure to always put your goals in writing. Putting something in writing makes it real, as opposed to something just rattling around in your head. It also helps you stay accountable to yourself and others.
With these ideas in mind now you are ready to work on filling your jar. Don’t forget, this is your life we are talking about. If you don’t pursue these goals for yourself, no one else can do it for you. Are you making room in your jar for the things that really matter?
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June Time Management Quick Tip of the Month – Do Not Disturb
In a recent survey of a group of business executives, every one of them listed unscheduled interruptions as the single biggest deterrent to getting their priority items accomplished each day. One way to compensate for interruptions is to allow for them in your schedule by intentionally scheduling fewer planned activities. This leaves room for interruptions. However, sometimes you just can’t afford to be interrupted because of the value of what is already on your plate. In such situations, don’t hesitate to close your door, turn off your cell phone, turn off the ringer on your land line, put a do not disturb sign on your door, and leave instructions to not be disturbed unless there is a genuine emergency. Most interruptions really can wait, but not unless you make them wait.
