Coaching practices for Weekly Planning Big Rocks
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Weekly Planning Big Rocks, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- Another week just vanished and the few things I actually meant to do never happened
- My whole week is just a pile of work tasks, and the parts of me that matter
- I know what my priorities are, but they live on a list while my calendar fills up with everyone else’s meetings
- I’m efficient and on top of my tasks, but I’ve lost the thread of why any of it matters
- Week after week the same important things don’t get done and I just keep rolling them forward, never stopping to ask what actually kept eating the time
Practices that may help
- Identify and schedule big rocks at the start of each week
On Monday morning (or Sunday evening), name three "big rocks" and block calendar time for each before anything else.
Big Rocks First - Big Rocks First
Stephen Covey's "big rocks" framework argues that the most important activities must be scheduled first — before smaller, urgent demands fill the available time. The metaphor holds: if you put sand in the jar first, the rocks don't fit. The method is not about doing more; it is about protecting your most important work from being crowded out by activity that feels urgent but is not truly important. - Plan from roles and goals, not from tasks
Before listing tasks, list your key roles this week and name one meaningful goal for each.
Big Rocks First - Schedule rocks in your calendar before anything else
Block time for your rocks in the first planning step — before reactive commitments fill the day.
The Pickle Jar Theory of Time Management - Anchor the week to your personal mission statement
Before weekly planning, briefly re-read your personal mission statement to orient priorities.
Big Rocks First - Run a weekly jar review to recalibrate categories
Once a week, ask: did my rocks get into the jar? What kept them out?
The Pickle Jar Theory of Time Management - Weekly planning
Set the week’s priorities and rough blocks before the week starts.
Time Blocking, Made Practical - Identify your rocks before the day begins
Name your 1–3 most important outcomes for today — the rocks that must go in the jar first.
The Pickle Jar Theory of Time Management - Drive it from a weekly plan
Translate each 12-week goal into the specific actions for this week.
The 12 Week Year, Made Practical - Chunk and schedule time for key results
Block specific chunks of time for the actions in your MAP and protect them as non-negotiable.
Tony Robbins’ Rapid Planning Method (RPM), Made Practical
Related concerns
- Daily Planning Rocks Pebbles
Identify necessary-but-not-critical tasks (pebbles) and give them a contained, defined time block.
Classify pebbles and batch them into a defined window
- Rocks Pebbles Sand Time Management
Identify necessary-but-not-critical tasks (pebbles) and give them a contained, defined time block.
- Weekly Planning Values
Before listing tasks, list your key roles this week and name one meaningful goal for each.
Plan from roles and goals, not from tasks
- When Ideal Week Design Ideal Vs Actual Comparison
Review the gap between the week you designed and the week you lived, and pick one structural change.
Compare ideal and actual week each Friday
- Big Rocks First At Work
Stephen Covey's "big rocks" framework argues that the most important activities must be scheduled first — before smaller, urgent demands fill the available time. The metaphor holds: if you put sand in the jar first, the rocks don't fit. The method is not about doing more; it is about protecting your most important work from being crowded out by activity that feels urgent but is not truly important.
- Big Rocks First Before Bed
Stephen Covey's "big rocks" framework argues that the most important activities must be scheduled first — before smaller, urgent demands fill the available time. The metaphor holds: if you put sand in the jar first, the rocks don't fit. The method is not about doing more; it is about protecting your most important work from being crowded out by activity that feels urgent but is not truly important.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.