Free Big Rocks Weekly Planner Template
Stephen Covey’s “put first things first” on one page: name your roles and the big rock for each, then give the rocks a place in the week before anything else fills it. Free, no sign-up.
From the team behind Week Plan — weekly planning software since 2010.
Monday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Tuesday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Wednesday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Thursday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Friday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Saturday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Sunday
- Rock
- Rock
- Fixed
Tired of rewriting the same week?
In Week Plan unfinished tasks roll over on their own, repeating tasks come back every week, and your priorities stay in front of you on every device.
The Big Rocks Idea, Briefly
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey describes filling a jar with rocks, gravel and sand. Pour the sand in first and the big rocks no longer fit. Put the big rocks in first and everything else settles into the gaps around them. The jar is your week; the big rocks are the few things that matter most.
Habit 3, “Put First Things First”, turns that picture into a weekly routine. Rather than prioritising what is already on your schedule, you schedule your priorities — before the week starts and before meetings and requests have claimed the space.
This template is that routine on one page. Week Plan has been built around the same loop since 2010, which is why the layout mirrors what the app does: roles first, then the big rocks, then the days.
How to Fill It In
Do it once a week, in ten to fifteen minutes — Sunday evening or Monday morning works for most people.
- Roles & big rocks: pick up to three roles that matter this week (parent, team lead, friend, yourself) and write one big rock for each — the single result that would make that role go well.
- Rock rows: give every big rock a specific day. Each day has two rock rows; if a day needs more than two, it is probably not a big rock.
- Fixed row: note the appointment or commitment that cannot move, so you can see what the rocks have to fit around.
- Everything else: add the “sand and gravel” underneath — errands, email, small tasks — only after the rocks are placed.
- Sharpen the saw: write one small act of renewal for body, mind, heart and spirit. This is Habit 7, and it is the part most weekly plans leave out.
Print It, Then Live the Week
"Print / Save as PDF" gives you the week on a single landscape page that fits A4 and US Letter; "Print blank template" prints the same layout empty, for planning by hand. Keep the page where you will see it each morning and check the rock rows before anything else.
When a day goes wrong, move the rock rather than dropping it — the point of naming it was that it matters more than what displaced it. To go deeper into the habit itself, read our guide to Habit 3, or see the overview of all seven habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who made this tool
Built and maintained by the team behind Week Plan, the weekly planner founded by Aymeric Gaurat-Apelli in 2010. We have spent every year since helping people plan their week around what matters — this tool is free, needs no account, and keeps what you type in your own browser.
Sources & References
Research and data cited in this article.
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