Rocks, Pebbles and Sand

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A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, without saying anything he picked up an empty glass jar and filled it up with Rocks. He then asked the students if they thought the jar was filled. They all agreed it was. So then the professor picked up a pile of Pebbles and poured them into the jar . With a litle shaking of the jar, the pebbles rolled into place in the open areas between the rocks. The students all laughed. The professor then picked up a box of Sand and poured that into the jar with the ROCKS and the PEBBLES. He gave it a little shake and of course the SAND filled in all the empty spaces left. So the professor says . . "I want you to think of this jar as your life." The ROCKS are the important things . .your most import tasks you have in order to fill your goals. your family, your health, your partner . .all the things that are so important that if you lost any of them you would be devastated. The PEBBLES are the smaller tasks you need in order to reach your goals . .things like your house and your job. The SAND is the mundane stuff that we need to do but slows us down in the way of our reaching our goals...like paying the bills, making dinner, tending to emails and such. The everyday errands that we do. So now if we were to put the SAND in first, there would be no room for the ROCKS and the PEBBLES. Kind of like our life for if you tend to the small stuff there is no time for the big stuff. The point is that if you start with the ROCKS you will find yourself getting closer to the things that are important and you can see a clearer picture of reaching your goals. You can then move on and work on the PEBBLES during short breaks through out the day . . and then at the end of the day you can deal with the SAND. Maybe even delegate a few of these tasks . and you really will have a good system to complete it all! The point that the professor was trying to show his students is that we should "take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities . . .the rest is all just sand so make sure you take the time to laugh with your kids... tell your loved ones you love them . . pay attention to your happiness!