One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and to drive home a point, he 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.”
Following that, he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He took out 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. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks.
Subsequently, 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 into the jar and it went into all of 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.”
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 beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is no matter how full your schedule is; you can always fit more things in it if you try hard enough.”
“No, that’s not the point.” The speaker replied.
“The illustration teaches us that 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? Time with your loved ones? Faith, education or your dreams? A worthy cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these Big Rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.
Hence 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.
