A consultant was hired to help a team of high-achieving executives develop more work-life balance. He brought in a one-gallon glass jar and filled it with large stones. He asked the group if the jar was full. The group agreed that the jar was pretty full.Focus on the big things However, he pulled out a bag of smaller pebbles like you would see in a fish tank, and poured them in as well. As he shook the jar, the smaller pebbles fell into the spaces between the large rocks. Again he asked, “So, is the jar full?” The group was more hesitant, now, though. So, they waited to see what he would pull out next. Not to disappoint, he pulled out a bag of sand, and poured it into the jar as well. “Now is the jar full?” One of the high-achievers in the front row, learning his game said, “No, you can still pour water into the jar.” Of course, he did. The same woman in the front row then said, “I get it. The point is that no matter how busy our schedule is, you can always cram something else in, right?” The consultant smiled at her and said, “Not exactly. My point is that the big items only fit into the jar at all because we put them in first. If you don’t focus on the big things like, spending time with your family and having a strong spiritual life, the little things will always seep in and take up all the space.” Use the Rocks in a Jar Time Management parable to encourage people to focus on the most important things in life.
