Big Rocks First: A Guide for Restoration Pros
Are You Letting the Urgent Crowd Out the Important?
Congratulations—you’ve survived the first quarter of the year! But let’s be honest: Have you thrived, or have you just been keeping your head above water?
If you’re in cleaning and restoration, you know how unpredictable things can be. A flood, a fire, or an urgent water damage job can derail even the best-laid plans.
Responding to emergencies is part of the job. However, always putting out fires can distract you from the bigger picture. This includes building a successful business, improving processes, and taking care of your team and yourself.
That’s where Stephen Covey’s Big Rocks Theory comes in. If you have never seen the famous demonstration, join us. Let's travel back to the 90s and watch it for a minute.
What the Big Rocks Theory Teaches Us in Cleaning & Restoration
Imagine someone handing you a large empty jar and two piles of objects:
Big rocks = Critical priorities
Small pebbles/sand = Low-value distractions
Now, here’s how it plays out:
If you start by filling the jar with pebbles and sand (small, urgent tasks), you won’t have room for the big rocks.
But if you place the big rocks in first, the pebbles and sand will naturally fill the spaces between the big rocks.
The lesson? If you don’t focus on the most important parts of your business, you will fill your days with small tasks. These tasks may keep you busy, but they won’t make you productive.
Why This Matters to Your Business & Team
In water damage restoration, carpet cleaning, and remediation, there’s always something demanding your attention. Sometimes, urgent but not important tasks are completed first. This can prevent you from focusing on tasks you need to complete for business grow.
Here’s how this theory applies to three key areas of your business:
Your Business Operations – Are you stuck in the day-to-day, or are you working on improving efficiency, marketing, and long-term strategy?
Your Team & Training – Are you constantly fixing mistakes, or are you investing in training so your team can handle jobs properly the first time?
Your Mental & Physical Well-being – Are you on the edge of burnout, running on fumes, and never taking a break?
The key to success isn’t doing more—it’s doing the right things first. People often use the term mental health as a buzzword. However, like physical health, it deserves attention. This starts by prioritising tasks.
How to Implement the Big Rocks Theory in Your Business
Let’s break it down into practical steps tailored to restoration professionals.
1. Identify Your Big Rocks
Before you can prioritise, you need to identify what actually moves your business forward.
Ask yourself:
What are the critical tasks that will help my business grow?
What am I constantly putting off because I’m "too busy"?
What’s costing me time, money, and stress because I haven’t addressed it?
For a restoration business, your big rocks might be:
Investing in staff training – Ensuring your team is skilled in moisture detection, water damage restoration and mould remediation.
Standardising job documentation & reporting – Improving how you log work, use photos and videos along the remediation process and prove job effectiveness to clients and insurers. Making sure the report allows for clear invoicing process to be paid at the end of the job.
Improving lead generation & marketing – Making time to reach out to insurance companies, builders, property managers, and referral partners
Upgrading equipment & processes – Using the right drying equipment, moisture meters, and technology to improve efficiency
Strengthening company culture – Building a team that is motivated, professional, and works well together
Action Step: Write down 3 Big Rocks that will move your business forward this quarter.
2. Time-block Your Big Rocks
The problem? You’ll never find time for important tasks—you have to make time for them.
Schedule big rocks first—before emails, paperwork, and urgent calls take over
Treat these like non-negotiable appointments (the same way you treat a customer booking)
Set aside one hour per week for planning, training, or business strategy
Example: Instead of saying, “I’ll update our job documentation system when things slow down” (which they never will), book time on your calendar this week to review your reports and checklists.
Action Step: Open your calendar and schedule time for one Big Rock this week.
3. Stop Letting "Busy Work" Win
There will always be emails, admin, and unexpected problems, but that doesn’t mean they should consume your entire day.
Ask yourself:
Does this task align with my big rocks?
Can someone else on my team handle this?
Will this still matter a month from now?
Example:
Instead of personally responding to every customer inquiry, train your admin team to handle basic questions. Free yourself up to focus on strategy, sales, or training.
Action Step: Identify one repetitive task you can delegate or streamline this month.
4. Invest in Training to Reduce Future Fires
One of the biggest time-wasters? Fixing avoidable mistakes. If your team isn’t trained properly, you’ll spend more time cleaning up after them than growing your business.
Investing in quality training means:
Fewer mistakes on job sites = fewer callbacks and rework
More confident technicians = better job efficiency and customer trust
Higher revenue = because you can charge more for skilled work
Example:
If your team struggles with moisture detection, don’t keep fixing problems on-site—book a water damage restoration course and get them trained properly.
Action Step: Identify one training gap in your business and schedule time to address it.
5. Prioritise Mental Health & Work-Life Balance
Burnout is real in the restoration industry. Long hours, emergency jobs, and physical labour take a toll. If you don’t make time for rest and recovery, you won’t be able to sustain long-term success.
Small changes can help:
Set work-life boundaries – Stop checking emails at midnight
Get outside and move – Even 10 minutes of fresh air can help reset your brain
Prioritise sleep – No one makes good decisions when exhausted
Take breaks – Your business won’t collapse if you step away for an hour
Example:
Instead of saying “I don’t have time to take a break”, remember that burnout is more expensive than a day off.
Action Step: Block one hour this week for something that recharges you.
Make the Next 90 Days Count
Your business and life won’t change overnight. But small, intentional shifts add up.
Identify your Big Rocks
Schedule them first
Say no to unnecessary distractions
Train your team to focus on what truly matters
Take care of yourself—because a burned-out business owner, manager, admin team member or technician isn’t a successful one
The next 90 days are in your hands. Make them count.