You’re probably very familiar with the term ‘Big Rocks’ which was referred to by Stephen Covey in his hugely popular 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
In this article, I want to share some thoughts on why in the 21st Century, we need to return to this great principle to take back control of our time and our business.
YOU SEE, YOUR ATTENTION AND TIME ARE UNDER CONSTANT THREAT AND CONFUSION IN THIS MODERN WORLD.
With the continued explosion of technology and social media and a hyper-connected world, we need more than ever a grounding point from which to make sure we are spending our time on the right things in our business.
Like you, I run a business, in fact, two of them. We help business owners with both the skills needed to run a business and also their marketing strategy. Due to the in-depth relationship we have with our clients, we are in a unique position to observe their business from their own schedule, to that of their staff, and to the flow of communication and messages and connections into and out of their business.
Despite the best spam protection available, I still receive hundreds of time wasting emails a day, and I had to develop a strategy to handle this. Since being connected to my communication channels to outflow communication to our clients, suppliers and partners, I also have to accept that a lot of communication will also flow into my business. To research markets for marketing plans, we have to sort through a lot of chaff to get to the wheat.
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO RETURN TO THE CONCEPT OF THE ‘BIG ROCKS’ IN YOUR LIFE AND IN YOUR BUSINESS.
Take some time to consider for yourself and your business, what the 3 to 5 key things are that you need to be working on, and observe when you’re not working on those, but instead are distracted. In your life, would you prefer to be spending time with family or bushwalking, than staring at your Facebook screen or Instagram feed to see how many people liked your latest cat video?
We can’t complain about being tired and run off our feet if we haven’t done something proactive to organise ourselves and our lives and our business.
If we do, well no disrespect, but we’re just playing the role of victim.
SO DECIDE WHAT YOUR ‘BIG ROCKS’ ARE; NO ONE ELSE CAN CHOOSE THEM FOR YOU.
Then put those in your day, your week, your year, your life first. If a few cat videos and posts get missed because you’re doing what you want, then you’ll have reached a positive, in control point in your business and your life and you’ll be happier, calmer and more successful as a result.
Enjoy the journey.
Originally published on Smallville.
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