Throw in the Big Rocks

When you outline your book, be sure to start with the big rocks.In his book First Things First, renowned personal-management expert Dr. Stephen Covey relates a story he once heard from an associate:

“I attended a seminar once where the instructor was lecturing on time. At one point, he said, ‘Okay, it’s time for a quiz.’ He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-moth gallon jar. he set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. ‘How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?’ he asked.

After we made our guess, he said, ‘Okay. Let’s find out.’ He set one rock in the jar…then another…then another. I don’t remember how many he got in, but he got the jar full. Then he asked, ‘Is that jar full?’

Everybody looked at the rocks and said, ‘Yes.’

Then he said, ‘Ahhh.’ He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Then he grinned and said once more, ‘Is the jar full?’

By this time we were on to him. ‘Probably not,’ we said.

‘Good!’ he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went in all the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he looked at us and said, ‘Is the jar full?’

‘No!’ we all roared.

He said, ‘Good!’ and he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got something like a quart of water in that jar. Then he said, ‘Well, what’s the point?’

Somebody said, ‘Well, there are gaps, and if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life.’

‘No,’ he said, ‘that's not the point. The point is this: if you hadn’t put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?’

To be effective at time management, you need to prioritize your most important projects—or "Big Rocks" as Covey calls them. The same is true for writing your book. Get your “Big Rock” ideas out first, then fill in the gaps around them.

The Big Rocks of your book are your Sections and Chapters. Try to get 8-15 Chapters for your book. Then, under each Big Rock, add the Gravel content and complete it with the Sand of stories and anecdotes.

If the jar illustration doesn’t do anything for you, think of a pond. If you toss a big rock into the middle of a pond, the ripples will start at the center and progress outward. As they go, the ripples get both wider and smaller. Start outlining with your main theme in mind. Then follow the ripples out as they get smaller and smaller: sections, chapters, subheadings, text & stories.