There’s always way more to do than can there are hours in the day.
That will always be true. Personal, family, work and leisure obligations add up quickly.
The key to getting as much done as possible is prioritization.
Stephen Covey’s “First Things First” is a book with a simple premise: Your life has big rocks and little rocks. The size represents the importance and, essentially, what should be prioritized. They all have to fit into a jar.
Here’s the problem: Pour the little rocks in first and you can get them all in the jar, but you won’t be able to fit the big rocks in.
But if you put the big rocks in first the little rocks will naturally fall into the space between.
One popular method to determine big rocks and little rocks is the Eisenhower Matrix. Classify your to-do’s in these four quadrants:
- Urgent and important – do these first
- Important, but less urgent – do these second
- Urgent, but less important – do these third
- Less urgent, less important – do these fourth
Finally, don’t forget that done is better than perfect.
Adding incremental improvements while spending inordinate amounts of time is the classic formula for diminishing returns.
Spend time on the big rocks first, and the little ones should fit just fine.
Have a great week.
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