This week’s Quick List* is a companion piece to our Quote of the Week: Do the BIG ROCKS first.

It’s so easy to get buried in the never ending avalanche of  e-mail and tweets and mail and committees and ideas and options and tasks and networking opportunities and…woo! 

 The BIG ROCK Theory** is a powerful tool for staying on top of it all.    It can help us master the art of leaving things undone and help us add to our valuable list of  things to STOP doing.  All of which has a way of boosting morale and productivity.  For you and those on your team.

But like all tools, it takes practice to use it skillfully.  And of course, it does no good if left in the drawer.

So – here are 10 tips for mastering BIG ROCKS!

 1.  Decide.  What are your BIGGEST ROCKS at work and at home?  Do this by deciding how you want to spend your time and/or you need to spend it.    Sounds simple.  But many people don’t stop to think about it.  They just do what comes along, what screams the most and/or what they feel like doing at the time. 

• What are your BIGGEST ROCKS for this year? 
• For this month? 
• For this week? 
• For today?
• For right this minute?

2.  Share:

• the work list (home list too if appropriate) with your boss to make sure he/she agrees that these are your big rocks for success. 
• the work list (home list too if appropriate) with colleagues so they know how their work fits in with yours.
• your home list (work list too if appropriate)  with those who live under the same roof with you so they know how to support you. 

Sharing your list will help you clarify, reinforce and commit to your own list.  It will help others know how to support you.  And it will give you common language for discussing progress, obstacles and a basis for dealing with conflicting priorities. You will also be providing for them a valuable model for the importance and power of prioritizing.

3.  Schedule time for each big rock on your calendar…just like you would schedule a meeting…even if no one is in the meeting with you.    Commit to it like it’s a meeting with your Board of Directors.

4.  Break big boulders into smaller pieces.   Don’t wait to find a two day time slot to complete a two day project or it may never happen.  Break  that big boulder sized project down into steps that can more easily fit onto your calendar. 

5.  Keep your BIG ROCKS for the day top of mind.  Put them at the top of your task list in whatever device you use.   Or write them on an index card…easy to tuck into your shirt pocket.  Or use one of our handy lists like the one below (set up to print 2 per page).

Or if you would feel safer having the not-so-big rocks on the same list, use the format below.

6.  Help your team members determine their own BIG ROCK list.  In some cases, it’s best to have each person share his list with you one-on-one.  In other cases, it works to do it as a group.  It depends on the group, their work functions and your comfort level with group facilitation.     Once everyone is comfortable with the concept,  you can use big rock discussions to sort through all sorts of pressing morale and productivity busting issues. 

7.  Remember that BIG ROCKS can shift quickly.  Having all the above discussions (in #2 and #6) serves as a strong foundation which enables you and everyone else to make necessary shifts more quickly.

8.  Put tracking tools to work as needed.  If you or anyone on your team has a hard time shifting away from doing the pebbles and sand first, track use of his time for a week.  The results will be very revealing.  Ask your coach for help with this.

9.  If feeling overloaded or overwhelmed,  use this question to re-focus:  What’s my biggest rock right now?

10.  To help everyone on your team, post reminders in prominent places.  Like this quote (PDF available in the 2 Little Time Section and in the Get 2 Goal Section of our  Quote Library) or our big rocks paperweight. 

Come back during the week for more on mastering BIG ROCKS   –  a big boost for morale and productivity at home and at work. 

Related Articles:

• Theme for the Week:  Big Rocks
• Quote of the Week:  Do the big rocks first!
• The BIG ROCK Theory
• Brainteaser of the Week #42
• Movie of the Week:  coming on Friday

• Theme for the Week: On Doing Too Much
• Theme for the Week: Stop the Busy-ness
• Theme for the Week: Leaving Things Undone

 copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc

* This weekly feature is for managers who don’t have time or don’t want to make time to read lengthy articles or even short paragraphs. We call it a Quick List. AKA – 10 by 10 on Tuesday. 10 ( ideas or tips or questions or steps or ways to Get 2 Goal or Be a Better Manager, etc) by 10 (AM – EST) on Tuesdays. Click here if you’d like to see all Quick Lists created to date.

**Note:  I read about BIG ROCKS on one of those e-mail pass alongs years ago and have been sharing it in writings and workshops ever since.  As time has passed, I have seen it pop up in a number of books including Steven Covey’s First Things First.  I do not know who the actual creator was.  If you do, please let me know.  I would love to give him or her credit because it has served so many people in so many ways.