Learn the steps to prioritize your week by planning according to your priorities to increase focus.

I’m back with Part Two of my Three-part series on Rocks and Sand.  If you didn’t read Part One, that probably sounds a bit weird.  Here’s a link so you can catch up. 

We’re going to dive a little deeper into the process of discovering your priorities, defining your rocks and scheduling them first.  The sand?  It’s coming in Part 3.

Have you determined what your rocks are?  What have you distinguished as your priorities?  You will be planning for those first.  All the rest of the “sand” in your life will fill in around it and somehow it all works.

For all you To-Do listers, this is where you get to do your thing.  The difference is now you start with your priorities., and the to-do’s come later.

It’s Time to Plan

Now is the time to grab your planner.  If you’d like to try mine, you can download it HERE.

When you first start this process, you’re going to have things already scheduled on your calendar that aren’t your priorities (that is, if this pandemic ever ends).

As you get more into this method, you’ll feel better about those appointments because you’ll only have them on the calendar if it’s one of your priorities. 

But don’t worry if you’re not quite there yet, it will come. 

Don’t Be a Yes Man

You’ll start being pickier about what you allow to fill in your days.  Before you say yes to things, you’ll first think if it falls under one of your top priorities.  You’ll be able to honestly say that you need to check your calendar to see if you can do it.

You may see that some of your appointments are already one of your priorities.  Good for you!  You’re ahead of the game!

Ok, ok, we’ll start scheduling.

Start by looking at the list you made of your priorities.  What is your #1?  Make a list of all the things you’d like to do this week that fall under that category. 

Here’s an example.

Let’s say your #1 is HEALTH.

Make a list of everything you want to do this week to take care of your health.

It may be:

• Exercise
• Meal Prep
• Go to the Farmers Market
• Doctor’s appointment
• You get the idea.

Now Add Color

Take all of your #1’s and put them in your schedule.  I have assigned each of my priorities a color so I write down all of list #1 in the same color.  I do this so that when I look at my week, I can see how well balanced I am with what I’m choosing to do.  Do I spend my best time of the day focusing on my top priorities?

Go down your priority list and do this for each one.  If you have a to-do that doesn’t fall under one of your categories, maybe you need to re-evaluate if it needs to be on your list in the first place OR, put it in your sand category. 

This may feel like a puzzle at first.  But I think you’ll be surprised at how your rocks fit in and there is even room left to add in some sand.  We’ll talk about that in our next chat.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

Stephen R. Covey

I have a Three-Step Guide that walks you step-by-step through the process of defining your rocks and planning your week.  I’ve been using this method for years and I’ve written it out to share it with you.  You can get it by going HERE

I’d love to hear how it works for you.  I’d also love to hear if it doesn’t.  I’m open to your feedback and I hope you’ll reply and let me know your thoughts.