The Small Purse Principle
“It doesn’t matter what size purse I have, I always fill it up. So I might as well go with the small purse, so I don’t have too much to carry.” ~ Renee
It was over 25 years ago when my friend Renee shared her purse principle with me, and I still think of it often. It’s a perfect metaphor for how we manage our time. Whatever space we give ourselves, we find a way to fill it.
THE RUB: I hear this phrase a lot, “I just don’t have enough time.” That excuse raises the hairs on the back of my neck. We all have the same 24 hours. The solution isn’t having more time, but choosing how we use the time we have.
THE FRAMEWORK: Renee’s purse principle reveals something profound about constraints. They can be liberating.
The productivity practice that applies this is called time boxing. Instead of saying “I’ll work on this until it’s done,” you decide in advance how much time you’ll spend on something, then stop when the clock runs out.
Big purse mindset: “I’ll work on this until it’s done.”
Small purse mindset: “I’m giving this 30 minutes.”
When I time box with clear constraints, I find it:
Makes a plan in advance
Fights perfectionism
Feels easier to start
Improves focus
Forces prioritization
Teaches how long it takes to do certain tasks
Cal Newport calls this “time blocking” and offers a step-by-step daily process. He also shows how this specific practice fits within a larger framework of controlling your time at quarterly, weekly, and daily levels.
THE PRACTICE: Time-block my work days. I’m solid starting the week with this practice, but I often fall off the wagon the moment something urgent pops up and throws me off course.
For other daily habits – exercise, reading, writing – I utilize a simple checkbox system: did I meet the goal or not? For the next 5 weeks, I’m adding “time block planning” to my daily discipline checklist.
Small purse. Clear constraints. Same 24 hours, better choices.