The “Jar of Life” metaphor: The art of effective priority management

Have you ever tried to fill a jar with rocks and sand to see how much can fit in? The experiment, often seen on YouTube, shows that by pouring the sand first and then the small rocks, there is no room left for the big ones. But, by placing the large rocks first, then the small ones and finally the sand, everything fits perfectly into the jar. This experience illustrates the importance of prioritizing your tasks. If you don’t set aside time for the most important ones, the rest will take up all the space.

Image Source: mindfulambition.net

What are your priorities?

To be productive, you have to know the difference between large and small rocks. In other words, it’s essential to identify what’s crucial to you and your success. To do this, it is necessary to think about your personal and professional goals, which are often linked. Time spent on work is time taken from your personal goals and vice-versa.
A good method to maintain a balance is to categorize your goals into six categories:

• Family
• Finance and career
• Mental and intellectual well-being
• Physical health
• Social and cultural life
• Professional objectives

For example, I make my physical health a priority by running three times a week. To nourish myself intellectually, I set myself the goal of reading one book a month. As for my professional goals, I align them with those of my company while following my personal mission: to help people become more efficient, with creativity and honesty, to change their lives at work.

How does it work?

“I didn’t have time to move forward with the project that is close to my heart!”

If you haven’t had time to realize what’s important, you haven’t taken the time.

The goal of this prioritization exercise is to give yourself time to accomplish what’s important. Here are some steps to better prioritize and move forward on what really matters:

1. Schedule time for your priorities

Reserve time slots in your calendar. Two hours a day can already give you 10 hours a week to advance your priorities.

2. Move, but don’t delete your time blocks

If you have a meeting during this time, move this block to another time, but don’t cancel it. Your time is valuable.

3. Unify your calendars

Keep all your calendars in one place. You have 24 hours in a day, what you allocate to a task is time that you can no longer recover.

4. Adjust your pace

Block your high-productivity moments for your important tasks. If you’re more creative in the morning, save this time to fully focus.

5. Use time management tools

Tools like Microsoft Bookings or Calendly can help you simplify appointment scheduling and manage your time slots.

Stay in control of your agenda

The goal is to keep control of your schedule. If you don’t, someone else will take control, or you’ll lose efficiency. Without this control, you may be more stressed. So, what are your big rocks? If you’d like help in learning how to better prioritize your calendar and tasks with tools like Outlook, we’re here to help. I invite you to contact us! P.S. Once you’ve set aside time for your priorities, you’ll have no problem inserting small tasks between two large rocks. And don’t forget, even on a busy day, there’s always room to have a coffee with a friend!