A LESSON IN SETTING PRIORITIES
SETTING PRIORITES:
One day an expert in time management was
speaking to a group of business students and,
to drive home a point, used an illustration
those students will never forget.
As he stood in front of the group of
high-powered overachievers, he said, "Okay,
time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed
Mason jar and set it on the table in front of
him. Then he produced about a dozen
fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them,
one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was
filled to the top and no more rocks would fit
inside, he asked, "Is the jar full?"
Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he
said, "Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out a
bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel
in and shook the jar, causing pieces of
gravel to work themselves down into the space
between the Big rocks.
Then he asked the group once more, "Is the
jar full?" By this time the class was on to
him.
"Probably not," one of them answered.
"Good!" he replied. He reached under the
table and brought out a bucket of sand. He
started dumping the sand in the jar and it
went into all the spaces left between the
rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the
question, "Is the jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said,
"Good!" Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and
began to pour it in until the jar was filled
to the brim. Then he looked at the class and
asked, "What is the point of this
illustration?"
One eager student raised his hand and said,
"The point is, no matter how full your
schedule is, if you try really hard you can
always fit some more things in!"
"No," the speaker replied, "That's not the
point. The truth this illustration teaches us
is: If you don't put the big rocks in first,
you'll never get them in at all. What are the
'big rocks' in your life? Your children ...
Your loved ones ... Your education ... Your
dreams ...A worthy cause ... Teaching or
mentoring others ... Doing things that you
love Time for yourself ... Your health ...
Your significant other."
"Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or
you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat
the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then
you'll fill your life with little things to
worry about that don't really matter, and
you'll never have the real quality time you
need to spend on the big, important stuff
(the big rocks).
So, tonight or in the morning, when you are
reflecting on this short story, ask yourself
this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my
life? Then, put those in your jar first."