Time Management - How To Use A System That Will Give You Time For Everything and Lead You To Success
Time management is a challenge for most of us. We make lists of things we need to get done and keep written and electronic plan books to make sure we don't miss a meeting or an appointment. By the end of the week we still have several things on our list that we did not get to and several more important things have been added. We may have had to reschedule an appointment because of something that came up and conflicted with our time.
There is an easier and better way. It is a process that I learned years ago when I was attending a program on personal development. It was referred to then as rocks, pebbles, sand and I still think of it that way. Let me explain further.
The speaker made a visual presentation that was very powerful and has stayed with me all this time. He brought out a large, wide-mouthed jar and filled it with rocks that were three or four inched in diameter. He asked the audience if the jar was full. We all agreed that it was. He then brought out a container filled with small pebbles. He poured the pebbles into the jar until it could hold no more. We now were sure that the jar was full. He smiled, and then brought out a bag of sand. As we laughed and looked on, this man then filled in all of the open spaces with the fine-grained sand and even he agreed with us that the jar was finally full. He continued his speech and suddenly, out of nowhere, a man came up to the stage with a pitcher of water.
The speaker now poured the water over the mixture of rocks, pebbles and sand. When no more water could go into the jar without it running over the sides we saw that the jar was now more than full; it was completely full.
He went on to speak about this for more than an hour. He explained that the rocks represented the one or two things that are the most important to us in our lives. These things may include family, faith, work, school or anything that you make time for no matter what. He then brought out a large desk calendar and showed that he had used a red marker to indicate the time he set aside for his rocks, which were his wife and daughter and his church. He said that he blocked off the time he spent with his rocks before he made any other appointments.
Then he brought out another calendar that had the red times along with some blue ones. These were his pebbles, and included his business and his close friends. Because he had owned his business for several years now, it was no longer a rock to him. It had become a pebble and was given less time and a lower priority in his life.
The last calendar he showed us had red, blue and green markings. The green items were his sand; the things he liked to do and needed to do, but the things that were also given the very least importance in terms of his time. He pointed out a dentist appointment, a book he wanted to finish reading, and a movie he intended to watch. The water represented anything else that came up at the last minute, like going to dinner with people he didn’t know very well or looking for a new pair of shoes.
There is an easier and better way. It is a process that I learned years ago when I was attending a program on personal development. It was referred to then as rocks, pebbles, sand and I still think of it that way. Let me explain further.
The speaker made a visual presentation that was very powerful and has stayed with me all this time. He brought out a large, wide-mouthed jar and filled it with rocks that were three or four inched in diameter. He asked the audience if the jar was full. We all agreed that it was. He then brought out a container filled with small pebbles. He poured the pebbles into the jar until it could hold no more. We now were sure that the jar was full. He smiled, and then brought out a bag of sand. As we laughed and looked on, this man then filled in all of the open spaces with the fine-grained sand and even he agreed with us that the jar was finally full. He continued his speech and suddenly, out of nowhere, a man came up to the stage with a pitcher of water.
The speaker now poured the water over the mixture of rocks, pebbles and sand. When no more water could go into the jar without it running over the sides we saw that the jar was now more than full; it was completely full.
He went on to speak about this for more than an hour. He explained that the rocks represented the one or two things that are the most important to us in our lives. These things may include family, faith, work, school or anything that you make time for no matter what. He then brought out a large desk calendar and showed that he had used a red marker to indicate the time he set aside for his rocks, which were his wife and daughter and his church. He said that he blocked off the time he spent with his rocks before he made any other appointments.
Then he brought out another calendar that had the red times along with some blue ones. These were his pebbles, and included his business and his close friends. Because he had owned his business for several years now, it was no longer a rock to him. It had become a pebble and was given less time and a lower priority in his life.
The last calendar he showed us had red, blue and green markings. The green items were his sand; the things he liked to do and needed to do, but the things that were also given the very least importance in terms of his time. He pointed out a dentist appointment, a book he wanted to finish reading, and a movie he intended to watch. The water represented anything else that came up at the last minute, like going to dinner with people he didn’t know very well or looking for a new pair of shoes.