Big Rocks or Little Rocks?

We went quartz mining recently (here’s where we went if you’re in the Midwest and want to go–it was so much fun!), and while we were cleaning the rocks, it made me think about the concept of starting with the “big rocks” first.

It’s common knowledge that when you’re trying to get things done–when you’re really committed to moving forward toward a goal–you have to prioritize the “big rocks” first. Those are the handful of actions that everything else depends on.

But when you’re trying to get things off your plate or, better, out of the jar, whether that’s through delegation or automation, we’ve found it’s the opposite approach that works best.

The analogy goes that if you want to get all the rocks into the jar, you have to start with the big ones first and then fill in the rest of the jar with the smaller rocks.

So, it makes sense in terms of responsibilities (versus priorities) that if we’re looking to maximize our capacity to address the big rocks, we need to first get the smaller rocks out of the jar.

It’s damn near impossible to get to the bigger rocks in your jar when you have so many little rocks in the way, but getting those little rocks out of your jar can change things faster than you’d think.

So how do you get the “little rocks” out of your way when it comes to your business and moving your priorities forward?

Our free Operations Canvas micro-tool.

We created it to help business owners and leaders identify, organize, strategize, plan, and then finally delegate or automate all the little rocks in their jars that are getting in the way. It works for solopreneurs, business owners, entire teams, and even households. 

If you need to delegate some little rocks to make capacity for the big rocks, our Operations Canvas is just what you need to get clear on what responsibilities you need to own and which you can delegate to someone else. We share it free of charge every month during our Last Friday workshop, which you can learn more about and register for here.