The Power of Big Rocks

Imagine your life is a glass jar. Now, picture a table full of materials: sand, pebbles, and a few large rocks.

The challenge?

Fit everything into the jar. If you start by pouring in the sand — all the little things that take up time in the day like unnecessary emails and other interruptions, you’ll fill up fast. Then the pebbles go in and take up even more room. By the time you get to the big rocks, there’s no space left. They don’t fit. You’re out of time. Out of energy. Out of capacity.

But flip the process: Place your big rocks in first — the most important, meaningful strategic priorities — and suddenly, the pebbles fill the spaces around them. The sand slips in effortlessly. Everything fits!

This isn’t just a productivity hack. It’s a mindset.

Most people spend their days drowning in sand. They answer emails, sit through back-to-back meetings, say yes to low-impact requests and check boxes to feel busy, but not necessarily effective. They’re filling the jar, but not with what matters because they haven’t taken time to define what their big rocks actually are.

What Are Your Big Rocks?

This is where it starts.

• What are the non-negotiables for the day? 

• What are the game changers?

• What’s essential, not just urgent?

• What deserves your clearest energy, not your leftover scraps of attention?

  
  

Big rocks aren’t always dramatic and easy to point out. They’re often quiet but powerful:

• A strategic project that needs attention

• Focused time with your team

• Deep work that requires clarity

• Space to think, reflect, and lead

  
  

If you don’t name them, you won’t make time for them.

Focus Requires Re-Focus

Even the most intentional leaders drift. We all get pulled into the whirlwind of urgent-but-unimportant tasks. That’s why focus isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a daily discipline. Ask yourself each morning: What are my big rocks today? Then protect them. Schedule them first. Give them your prime attention — not what’s left after Zoom fatigue sets in.

Lead with Intention

When you lead with your big rocks, you model what matters. You teach your team — and yourself — that being busy is not the same as being effective. You create space for deep work, better thinking, and meaningful progress.

So here’s your challenge this week:

1. Name your big rocks — the things that truly matter.

2. Block time for them first — before the sand starts to pour in.

3. Refocus often — because life will keep trying to distract you.

   
   

Start there. Start with what matters most. The rest will fit.