Mastering Prioritization: How to Use The Simple Big Rocks Theory

You might wonder how those two demonstrations can teach prioritization to students. But think about it.

If you start your day by finishing all the small and easy stuff first, you won’t have the energy and time for the most important ones. And you will have to delay them until the next day.

However, if you start with the fundamental tasks, you can fit others between them. So whenever you have a few free minutes or finish earlier, you could integrate the small tasks.

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Also, there’s a difference between leaving a big or small stone out of the jar.

• The large stone will be harder to fit in the following days because of its clutter. So you are delaying it indefinitely.
• You can leave out many smaller stones because you will always find a space for them in the following days.

So, how can you improve your prioritization skills?

The Big Rocks Theory is fascinating. It shows you why you should start with the most fundamental tasks first. But it’s nothing more than a story. It doesn’t give you the tools you should use to improve your prioritization skills.

Luckily, you have me. And you have The Challenge.

So, let’s find a way to improve your prioritization skills together. And let’s start with the two variables that impact the size of your stones (no second meanings here, I promise).

• What happens if you finish or skip a task?
• How much time do you have left?

Understanding the consequences of a missed task is the only way to state its importance.

If skipping it gives you no consequences, it doesn’t matter. It’s not fundamental. It’s only a little stone. But if neglecting a task has any negative impact on your future, you should prioritize it.

Also, distinguish between short and long-term consequences. Losing one gym session is irrelevant. But if you add up those little effects, you create catastrophic long-term consequences. And that’s why going to the gym should be a big rock if you don’t make enough daily movement.

Urgency is the other parameter that defines the importance of a task.

How much time do you have left for it?

If you have a lot of time, you will also have a small stone. But if you don’t, your stone will grow.

You might also wonder what to do with tasks without deadlines. But that’s not a case you should worry about.

If you are using S.M.A.R.T. goals, you must have time-bounded tasks. So, the deadlines become the end of your goal.

Now, let’s put everything into an infographic. We could structure this as an Eisenhower Matrix.

The Eisenhower Matrix is one of the methods I suggested to create your perfect productivity routine. And you can use it to acknowledge the priority of your tasks.

The matrix has only our two variables, so you will have four resulting spaces to put each task.

In the first part of the matrix, you can find the urgent and fundamental tasks. Those are the things you must do and prioritize in your planning. They have short deadlines and significant consequences.

In the second space, you will have tasks with unclear or long-term deadlines but negative consequences if skipped. You can schedule these tasks for another day.

Then, some tasks are negligible, but you have to do them anyway because they have a deadline. 

Those tasks don’t require your specific skill set. So you can delegate them.

And then, you have tasks with no consequences and no deadlines. Usually, those tasks create the illusion that you are removing something from your to-do list. But they have no purpose. So you can delete them. They are mere distractions.

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