Time Management! A Story

A consultant in Time Management was conducting a seminar to a group of business managers, and to illustrate a point, he gave the following quiz:

He pulled out a large bucket and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about two (2) dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them out one at a time into the bucket.

When the bucket was filled to the top, and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked "Is the bucket full?" Everyone in the seminar said, "Yes", He said, "Really?"

Then, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag of gravel to work itself down into the bucket and chook it, causing pieces of gravel to work itself down into the space between the big rocks.

Then he asked the group once more, "Is the bucket full?" by this time the group was on to him. "Probably not", one of them answered. "Good!" he replied.

He reached under the table and brought out a bag of sand. He started dumping the sand in the bucket, and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.

Once more he asked the question, "Is this bucket full?" "No!" the group shouted. Once again he said, "Good".

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the bucket was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the group and asked, "What is the point of the illustration?" Once eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is: no matter how full your work schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit more things into it."

"No", the consultant 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."

Question: What are the "BIG ROCKS" in your business day?

Answer: "HIGH PRIORITY WORK". Remember to put these "BIG ROCKS" in first, or you will never get them in at all.

So when you are planning for your work schedule for the day/week/month, ask yourself this question:

What are the "BIG ROCKS" (high priority items) I have to do? Put those items in your bucket FIRST.