<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Must vs. Should-Do : Big rocks are the must-do items that align with your larger goals (think writing a book, launching a business, or hitting a fitness milestone).</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Focus on Impact : A big rock produces meaningful change or growth. If it doesn’t, it’s probably a pebble.</li></ul>I wrote more about this concept in <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/mastering-prioritization">Mastering Prioritization: How to Use the Simple Big Rocks Theory </a>. It’s a quick read that might shake up your entire approach to planning.

Define Your Big Rocks

Have you ever had a colleague or boss pinging you with an “URGENT” message or call and suddenly dropped everything to meet their needs?I hated it when it happened because all my frail castle of time management and priorities went up in smoke. Hours of planning faded away in a couple of minutes. And it felt terrible.Nobody likes urgent. Urgent is bad. And do you know why?

Extinguish Urgent Fires with Important Waters (1)

Most people treat time management like a game of Tetris. They cram tasks into every nook in their schedule until their day looks like a cluttered rainbow of commitments. But they are left with zero room for spontaneous joy (or even a decent lunch break).I’ve been there. I tried to write this newsletter during lunch breaks for a while. And guess what? If you manage time this way, you’re better off not doing it.

Stuffing Your Schedule

Many times, what’s urgent for someone else might not be important to you. But it will become urgent if that someone has some powerful influence on you — a client or a boss.So, how do you extinguish those fires? The Eisenhower Matrix can save your sanity.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Important & Urgent : Actual crises — handle these first.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Important & Not Urgent : Schedule these strategic tasks before they become crises.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Not Important & Urgent : Interruptions — delegate if you can, or set boundaries to minimize them. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Not Important & Not Urgent : Time-sucking black holes — eliminate without mercy. </li></ul>

Extinguish Urgent Fires with Important Waters (2)

A year is a long time, and the finish line can feel too far away to stay motivated. But nobody forbids you to do something about it.You can use many strategies to split your year into shorter sprints. Q uarterly planning is the simplest way . Think of it as running a 90-day sprint instead of a 365-day marathon.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Set 1–3 Major Goals Each Quarter : Keep it lean. Too many goals dilute your focus.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Review Monthly : Life changes, and so do your priorities. Be flexible.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Celebrate Small Wins : I'm bringing back the C-word — celebration. Motivation needs a dopamine boost now and then.</li></ul>

Split Up Your Year in Shorter Sprints (1)

Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington suggest a similar approach in their book The 12-Week Year . But instead of breaking the year into four standard quarters, they condense it into four cycles of 12 weeks each.This subtle shift creates a sense of urgency and focus. With a shorter time frame, you’re less likely to procrastinate because each “year” feels finite, and delaying important tasks even by a week can significantly impact your results.

Split Up Your Year in Shorter Sprints (2)

🎯 This is Part 6/9 of the Series Your Best Year YetWelcome back! You’re reading part six of Your Best Year Yet: A Step-by-Step Guide — a special year-end series designed to help you reflect on the past year, set transformative goals, and create a plan to thrive in the year ahead. If you missed the previous issue, <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/breaking-down-big-goals">catch up here</a>.In this issue, we will focus on a few time management and prioritization tips to help you reach your goals for 2025 easier.We will discuss the first 30 days and how to use them effectively in the upcoming issue. <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/publish/post/https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Subscribe</a> to avoid missing it!

[The Challenge] - Your Best Year Yet

The real secret is managing priorities , not minutes. That’s why we will explore how to choose what truly matters in this issue. We will see how to align your calendar and priorities to create space for unexpected problems.(P.S. If you need a refresher on why time management is still the backbone of success, check out my broad introduction: <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/time-management-fundamentals">Time Management Fundamentals: Why Is It Insanely Crucial For Success? </a>It might reshape how you see your daily schedule.)

The Real Secret of Managing Priorities

Time management is useless if you schedule tasks without any prioritization. But done correctly, it can transform the way you live and work.Pick your priorities, use time blocking wisely, and revisit your goals in shorter time spans than a year. This way, you won’t only be busy — you will be intentional. You are not working to reach perfection. The key is to keep returning to these principles, refining them, and making them yours.So next time you open your planner, ask yourself: Am I filling time, or am I shaping my life?[DOWNLOAD THE <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/master-time-management">FREE</a> TRACKING INFOGRAPHIC]

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Spread the word! Share <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">The Challenge</a> with friends and family.</li><li class="ql-align-justify"><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">Subscribe today</a> to support the ongoing creation of this content.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Want more? Explore my other work at <a href="https://www.cosmopolitanmindset.com/">Cosmopolitan Mindset</a>.</li></ul>

Next Steps

Time management is nothing without time blocking, and it might be the right technique if you have a calendar with a rainbow of overlapping events.<ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Assign tasks to specific blocks. Block out time for emails, deep work, and even breaks. Keep each block dedicated to one type of task to avoid context-switching confusion.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Buffer your blocks. Life happens: tasks run over, your internet might randomly give up, and you could always spill your coffee. So, add 15-30 minutes of buffer between blocks to handle any surprise. Best case scenario: you will finish your day earlier or take longer breaks. </li></ol>

How to Use Time Blocking That Works

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Less Is More : When you booked every hour, you’re one urgent email away from a meltdown. Focus on fewer tasks to protect your sanity from last-minute issues.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Quality vs. Quantity : Working on fewer tasks but giving them your full attention often yields better results.</li></ul>Focus on tasks that move the needle and break the busy trap. And if you don’t know those tasks, you can use the <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/discover-your-life-priorities">Pilot Story by Warren Buffet </a>(supposedly) to find your priorities.

The Busy Trap

A while back, I had the brilliant idea to schedule every hour of my day. I was still a student, but I planned my study time, side hustles, and even breaks into colored blocks on Google Calendar. But it didn’t work.I was busy — that’s for sure — but I wasn’t productive .

Don’t Fill Up Your Schedule — It’s a Trap

There’s a famous story about one professor who teaches a lesson about life priorities.Imagine having a jar, a few large rocks, gravel, and sand. If you pour the sand and gravel in first, you’ll never fit the big rocks. But if you place the big rocks before anything else, the gravel and sand fill in around seamlessly.That’s how your schedule should work, too.

How to Put the Big Rocks First

You're reading an excerpt from <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">The Challenge</a> — a weekly newsletter dedicated to self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips.Every week, you'll receive:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A life-enhancing challenge</li><li class="ql-align-justify">A custom infographic to track your progress</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">Subscribe now</a> and start your first challenge.

The Challenge

Time management is useless. Yes, you read that right — useless. But let me explain before you raise an eyebrow and wonder if I’ve lost my mind.

Time Management is Useless

Master time management & prioritization to plan your year for success. Learn time blocking, set priorities, and align your schedule with your biggest goals.