Time Management Wisdom:

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An expert on time management was speaking to a group of busines students
and, to drive home a point, used an illustration.

As this man 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 a 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 this 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 spaces between
the big rocks.

Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the
class was onto 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 and it went into all the spaces left between the
rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this 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 up at the class and asked, "What
is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver 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 into it!"

"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?
A project that YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your
faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring
others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get
them in at all. 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 or business? Then, put those in your jar first."

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