Setting priorities is one of the hardest things for an entrepreneur…

Wait—scratch that. Setting priorities is easy. Sticking to them is hard.

Actually, both are hard. Let me explain why and what you can do about it.

First, let’s talk about why setting quarterly priorities (Rocks or OKRs) is so challenging:

• You believe in your superpowers: “We can accomplish anything we set our minds to!” (True, but not all at once.)
• You’re in a hurry: “Life is short! Massive results, right now!”
• You hate saying “no”: “We should’ve hired that Marketing executive months ago;” “We’re bleeding money without a sales process;” “Our software release is overdue.”
• You’re in denial: Several Rocks from last quarter are still incomplete, but you’re trying to ignore that fact.
• Your plate is overflowing: Family vacation, keynote speech, board meeting prep—you’re already maxed out before adding any Rocks.

Why Sticking to Priorities Is Harder

Even if you manage to pick a few Rocks, you’ve probably overcommitted yourself. Struggling to push things back is one thing, but hiding extra priorities—aka “Pocket Rocks”—is another.

I once reminded a CEO to keep his Rocks to two or fewer. He sheepishly replied, “I have some Pocket Rocks that…