Choosing priorities can be difficult. My clients come to me thinking that they need to neglect certain areas of life because other things are 'more important'? Should you list priorities by 1 to 10 and just focus on number 1 until it's done and then move on to number 2?

NO! You would never get round to things like cutting the grass, exercising regularly, filing papers, reading your kids night time stories.

People are taught to prioritize by level of 'importance'. This creates mess and does not work.

Do you know the anecdote of filling a bucket with large rocks?

The Time Management Rocks

Identify your time management core values (most generalized statements of what is important to you). These become your core projects that your life is focused around, the great rocks that fill your life's bucket. It may include Health, Career, Finances, Relationships, etc.

And the bucket is full. It can hold no more large rocks. Despite being full, there is still room in there. Because you can fill in the rest of the space with smaller pebbles right?

The Time Management Pebbles

Breaking down your big vision will give smaller projects. Those are the pebbles that will fit down into the bucket between the rocks.

Those pebbles are projects that contribute towards those widest categories of life desires.

The Time Management Sand

Next we identify something on the size of an immediate activity such as feeding the kids. In our metaphor this is represented by sand.

These are the actual daily activities, chores and responsibilities of time management that contribute towards our multitude of projects (pebbles).

And there is still some room left in our time management bucket.

The Time Management Water

That extra space is available to water. And this represents the very small next action steps that we can take.

The big projects will only get done by the little next step activities, and so it's all vitally 'important'.

Time Management Scheduling

I always have pebbles that I carry around with me, whether that be books for learning, paper for writing, Pocket PC use, ear phones for listening to training audios, etc. When I'm at home, the computer is usually on with some kind of project work open.

Then everything else in my life, all of the sand, the little bits and pieces, sometimes irritating if they get in awkward places, fits in around my pebbles.

This way I am always connected, mindful, focused, in some way, to the bigger picture.

Example: The computer is on, an article is open about buckets and time management, and I need to look after my health, so I'll rush to the kitchen to cook. Whilst doing that I might be thinking of my article, or listen to a CD audio, or I might use the time for quiet time to let my brain space out and enjoy the chopping, bubbling, and sizzling.

Then once the food is cooking I rush back to my office onto my computer and re-focus.

You could say that eating is more important than writing an article. So you see I do not prioritize or schedule to level of importance. I do it all, and I do it all by breaking it down into time management rocks, pebbles, sand, and water. My clients and I then have a very unique and workable time management schedule without the normal problems of how or what to prioritize. Try it.