Mastering Prioritization

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.

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 ...

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

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.

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The Big Rock Theory is a simple way to describe how prioritizing the wrong tasks in your life could make you renounce what matters the most.

There once was a professor who put a big jar on his desk and a couple of stones of different sizes and shapes. Then,...

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 wi...

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 ...

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.

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.

You are reading an excerpt from The Challenge, a newsletter where I discuss self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips and tricks.

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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.