A good friend shared a reflection about his priorities recently. He shared that his jar of time over the past 3 years always treated work and family as “big rocks” and everything else as sand. This meant social commitments/nurturing relationships, personal projects, and personal health only got prioritized when there was space.
He talked about the concept of upgrading some of this sand into rocks. For example, it could be as simple as finding time every week for a game of tennis with friends. By making this a clear priority, he’d ensure he’s putting in some effort to maintaining relationships that matter.
My reflections were similar. My big rocks were work and family – with most things falling by the wayside when our kids were infants/toddlers. As they’ve grown, I’ve managed to prioritize my fitness and added it as a big rock.
But there’s still a long list of stuff I don’t get to enough.
Everything can’t be a big rock. But his practice of making sure we carve out space for a few small rocks we schedule around is a good one.
Ultimately, it all comes down to being conscious about trade-offs. And the practice of building in regular routines/practices makes us more conscious of the trade-offs we’re making.
