Priorities, Cans and Rocks

May 19, 2022

The Art of Applied Visual Thinking

The official newsletter of Applied Visual Thinking SUPERHEROES. Vol. 3 No. 10 May 20, 2022

Let's talk about thinking ahead for a minute. Sometimes taking the time to talk about a vision for the future may feel unproductive, because the results are not immediately apparent. At work and in life, however, sometimes it makes sense to slow down and confirm your direction before speeding up again. Visual thinking can help, and make the process more fun.

You might be tempted (like me) to put off this big picture thinking for any number of reasons. Sometimes kicking the can down the road (delaying your visioning and planning), however, can come back to bite you. Not getting enough sleep for days on end, for example, makes you more forgetful, less efficient, and more prone to errors. Delaying inspections, repairs and maintenance can turn cheap, simple fixes into expensive projects. Putting off hiring to fill open positions can cause customer dissatisfaction, and postponing marketing or networking calls can result in lost sales.

AVT for VISIONING (coming soon) will help simplify and bring visual thinking into your next visioning activity. Meanwhile, I have always loved the story of the teacher who teaches his students about how to prioritize life by using the visual metaphor of an empty glass jar. Read on for some inspiration and a free visual template.

Kicking the can down the road can sometimes come back to bite you.

A drawing of the tip of a shoe kicking cans down a road. The cans close enough to read are labeled sleep, calls and hiring.

This story has been retold many times. A professor of philosophy began his class by filling a jar to the rim with rocks. He asked the class if the jar was full. They agreed that yes, it was full.

The professor then produced a box of pebbles and poured them around the rocks, shaking the jar gently so they would settle into the cracks. The professor asked again if the jar was full, and the students laughed and said that yes, this time it was really full.

The professor pulled out a bag of sand and poured it into the remaining open spaces in the jar, all the way to the top. The professor asked a third time if the jar was full, and the students nodded vigorously that yes, this time it was truly full.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar signifies your life. The rocks are the truly important things, such as family, health and relationships. If all else was lost and only the rocks remained, your life would still be meaningful. The pebbles are the other things that matter in your life, such as work or school. The sand signifies the remaining “small stuff” and material possessions.

If you put sand into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same can be applied to your lives. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are truly important.

What are the biggest "rocks" taking up space in your calendar? Better yet, what would you like them to be? If you think of your calendar as an empty jar,… OK, maybe your calendar is far from empty, but imagine with me for a moment. If your calendar is an empty jar, what do you envision as the biggest, most essential rocks? What might be the pebbles? Sliding in through the cracks are the grains of sand. What might the small stuff represent for you?

AVT Visual Priorities Jar template

Download and print this free Priorities Jar template to envision for yourself how you might answer these BIG questions about life's priorities. Take a minute to clear your head first. Maybe get a beverage of your choice, find a comfy place to sit, and look out a window or at some photos of places you love to go in order to "cleanse the visual palette" from the distractions of email, social media, etc.

Start by brainstorming all of the recurring activities you would like to see in your dream calendar of the future. Jot these down in the open area on the left.
Circle the most important 3. (OK, no more than 5!) Add these to the jar in big, bold letters, and circle them. These are your "rocks" that you will grant prime real estate in your calendar of the future.
Underline the activities you want and need to make time for regularly in order to keep your world happy, balanced and functioning. These are the "pebbles." Add as many of these as you need to, but try to be discerning, as each of these will take up time on your calendar and space in your jar. Use medium-sized lettering in a second color.
Just as my husband says, "there is always room for ice cream to slide into the empty spots," so it is with taking a few deep breaths, sending a message of encouragement, or walking the long way to get a little extra movement into the day. What is your "sand" that you can and will always make time for? Add these activities to your jar in small but readable black lettering.
Use your AVT Visual Priorities Jar template to guide your calendar planning for the next day/week/month. Share your jar with us and let us know how it goes!