A while back I was reading about an expert on subject of time management. One
day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home
a point, used an illustration.
As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said,
"Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled put 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 smiled
and 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. And 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.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
WIT & WISDOM - October 7, 1998
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