Getting things done

August 11, 2010 by janet · Leave a Comment 

If you are having trouble getting things done, maybe it’s time to examine your rocks – the big things.  There is a classrocks in orderic time management story that goes something like this:

A professor stands in front of his class.  On the desk, sits a jar and a pile of rocks.  He asks a student to fill the jar with as many rocks as possible until it is full.  When the student finishes, the professor asks the class if the jar is full and they all say ‘yes’.  The professor presents a pitcher of sand.  He pours the sand into the jar and it fills the space around the rocks.  He asks the class again if the jar is full.  They exclaim ‘yes’.  He then takes a pitcher of water and pours it into the jar until it begins to spill over the top.  Now the jar is full. 

The lesson is that there is often more room in the jar than you think, but only if you put the big rocks in first. 

For the last 6 months, I have been extremely busy – a bit over-committed with client work.  As good as that is for my bank account, I know it’s not really a sustainable business model.  I have been so busy delivering, I haven’t really made time for business building.  So, last week I allocated time for big rocks – 4 hours per day working on my list:

1)      Begin design on that new client training/coaching program I’ve been meaning to do

2)      2011 financial planning and set up of systems and files

3)      Re-write  that research paper I did into a more usable white paper for my audience

4)      Mindmap/outline the Flying Solo Live talk for September

5)      Create a schedule and library of future blog posts

Over the week, I was able to make significant progress on items 1, 2, and 3 and make a good start on 4 and 5.  It’s not as much as I had hoped to achieve, but it’s significantly more than I’ve achieved in the last 6 months. 

But, I can’t do that every week.  So, how I will I sustain it?  Clearly, these tasks have to go in the jar first.  Each of these tasks required significant head space just to make a start.  They can’t be squeezed in between client work or meetings.  For my business, that means being more careful with my time:

  • Set an appointment in my diary for this work.  Treat it with the same respect and attention that I would give a client
  • Keep a prioritised list of ‘big rocks’ to tick off the list – aim for 1 per week.  That could be 50 per year!
  • Remove distractions – no email, phone calls, or Twitter while working on the big rocks
  • Get moving  -  If I get stuck on something, don’t turn to the internet for a distraction…get moving!  45 minutes of walking time is great for new ideas

Filed under: Business, Personal Development, Strategic Planning
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