Time Management !

The busier you are, the more important to stop and read this story!

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." He then pulled out a one-gallon,
wide-mouth 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 by one, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fitinside,
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 space between the big rock.

Then he asked the group once more. "Is this 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 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
the expert in time-management 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, if you try really hard you can always fit some
more things in it."

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this
illustration teaches us is this: 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 spouse. Your loved ones. Your friendships.
Your education. Your dreams. A worthy cause. Teaching or mentoring
others. Doing things that you love. Time for yourself. Your health."

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first, or you'll never get them in
at all. If you sweat the little stuff (i.e. gravel, the sand) then
you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really
matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend 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.