The end result is depleted energy, disconnection from our purpose, and a decline in the quality of our work. The habit of filling our bucket with rocks, pebbles, and sand - the habit of busy - causes these poor habits of emotion, mind, and physiology. We might experience mental fatigue or forgetfulness. Our bodies react with habits of discomfort in the form of chronic back pain, inflammation, and high blood pressure, among others. We may breed emotional habits such as confusion, hopelessness, anger, or overwhelm. When we neglect to fill our bucket with sufficient space, our bucket becomes an incubator for these habits, which sabotage our productivity and success. You may not recognize them as habits, but that’s what they are: automatic responses to a trigger, just like hitting the snooze button when your alarm goes off. These responses are the habits that shape our lives. The barrage of expectations from clients, children, parents, spouses, friends, community, and people we don’t even know.Įach of these inputs - and many others - prompts an automatic physiological, emotional, or mental response within us. The steady stream of information, advertisements, sales pitches, and solicitations. We live in a world where the demand for our attention and energy is constant and increasingly unrelenting. In fact, we can’t listen because we can’t even hear it.
Without space, we stop listening to others, especially those who have alternate viewpoints, as we entrench in the safety of our echo chamber.Įven more important, without space, we stop listening to our own inner wisdom. We may say things that we don’t mean, or that don’t reflect the truth of who we are. In this state, we may become snappish or lash out at others. We become quick to judge as we lose our capacity for sympathy, empathy, and compassion. Without space, we are at risk of being hijacked by emotions like fear, anger, frustration, and doubt. Without space, we become vulnerable to the epidemic of outrage that plagues our society. Without space, we easily get trapped in CHAOS, which is what I call those moments when we feel crazed, harried, anxious, overwhelmed and spinning, among other things. We get wrapped up in churning out content instead of creating meaning and impact. We enter the cycle of doing, instead of being. When the bucket of our life has no space, we lose perspective. Space to live a life of meaning and purpose. Space to connect, with others and within ourselves. One of the many problems with the “Big Rocks First” strategy is that the focus on the “stuff” that goes into the bucket overlooks a crucial element that also must fit in the bucket, but is not easily seen. The “Big Rocks First” Strategy Ignores a Crucial Element Keep it in mind the next time you head to the beach.īut as a strategy for planning your day, or your life … not so much. This is an excellent strategy for filling a bucket with stuff. Then, you can pour the sand into the bucket and it will fill all the spaces in between. The only way to fit everything in the bucket is to put the big rocks in first, then the pebbles. If you put the pebbles in first, you might have room for the sand, but the rocks won’t fit. If you put the sand in first, you leave no room for rocks and pebbles. Imagine you have a bucket, which you are trying to fill with rocks, pebbles, and sand. If you’re new to this strategy, here it is in a nutshell: Stephen Covey’s strategy of putting in “ the big rocks first” when filling your day, or your life, is widely regarded as one of the fundamentals of productivity. In the pursuit of being “more productive,” we get caught up in seeking the strategy that will allow us to fit even more stuff into the container of our days. Each day, we embark on a race to complete our to-do lists as we shuttle from this meeting to that appointment, from this errand to that activity.
Our current culture, with its emphasis on 24/7 connectivity, hustle and drive, and “on demand” mindset, has lured us into the belief that “busy” is productive. The Missing Element in Covey’s Big Rocks First Strategy The classic productivity advice to “put in the big rocks first” when planning your life, or your day, overlooks a crucial element necessary for productivity.
0 kommentar(er)
