Lucy Rogers
COLUMN SPARK
ave you ever used the
wrong tool for a job when
you have the proper tool
elsewhere, but the wrong
one just happened to be
handy? I often use a junior
hacksaw to cut small things, when I have
a workshop full of wood-saws, jig-saws,
fret-saws, and a band-saw – any of which
would make neater cuts.
Having tools is great, but sometimes
the right tool is just the one nearest
to hand.
There’s a time
management tool- it’s an analogy
about rocks, pebbles,
sand, and water in
a glass jar. Fill the jar
with rocks
(important projects,
e.g. family, health,
and income) and
there is still room for
pebbles (nice projects such as hobbies
and friends , and then still room for Ũfiller
projects’ (watching TV or social media) - and even then, there’s still room for
liquid refreshmentsК $ut fill it with sand
or liquid first and there’s no space
time
left for more important things.
This is a great Ũtool’, but one I had filed
under ‘useful’ rather than ‘use’.
So, I have taken some time to think
about what my ‘rocks’ and ‘pebbles’ are –
or should be. What areas of my life do I
want to be important? In her book, Feel
the Fear and Do It Anyway, Susan Jeffers
mentions that the problem of someone
saying, “my job is my life”, or “my partner
is my life”, is that if they lose that job
or partner, then their life is empty and
meaningless. She suggests making a grid
of nine squares and writing part of your
life in each. Then, spend equal amounts
of your thoughts/efforts on each square.
I have made one of these grids – and
I’ve been using that to help me focus on
what ‘rocks’ I want to put in my jar.
My top three squares are for family,
home, and friends. The next three are
income, health, and learning. And then
I have the things I love to do – making,
storytelling, and
outdoor activity.
These are not rigid
definitions. Some
things will tick two
or more boxes at
once – for example,
kayaking with
friends, or selling one
of my makes.
However, just like
knowing there’s a better tool in the
workshop, knowing that I have large
rocks to put into my jar is not the same
as doing them. Sometimes it’s just easier
to procrastinate on social media.
After I went freelance, I spent years
telling myself that I couldn’t do the ‘fun’
things until I’d done the ‘work’ things.
Which meant that even if I did do a fun
thing, I spent the time guilt-wracked,
which killed the enjoyment.
So now I am putting the ‘rocks’ into my
calendar – and giving myself permission
to do the fun ones too. And weirdly, I am
still finding time for social media and
watching a bit of TV!Nine squares
Making time for the important things in life
Lucy Rogers
@DrLucyRogersLucy is a maker, an engineer,
and a problem-solver. She is
adept at bringing ideas to life.
She is one of the cheerleaders
for the maker industry, and is
Maker-in-Chief for the Guild
of Makers: guildofmakers.orgH
So now I am putting the
‘rocks’ into my calendar- and giving myself
permission to do the
fun ones too