One day, an expert on the subject of time management stood in front of a group of high-powered overachievers. She said, "Okay, time for a quiz.''
She then pulled out a bucket and set it on a table in front of them, produced a couple of dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them one at a time in the bucket. When the bucket was full, she asked, "Is the bucket full?''
Everyone in the class said, "Yes.''
She smiled and asked the group once more, "Is the bucket full?''
"Probably not,'' one of them answered. "Good!'' she replied.
Once more she reached under the table and brought out a container of sand. She tipped the sand in and it filled all the small spaces between the rocks and the gravel.
Once more she asked "Is this bucket full?''
"No!'' the class shouted.
Once again she said, "good!'' She grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the bucket was full to the brim. Then she looked up 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 into it!''.
"No,'' the speaker replied, "that is not the point. What this demonstration teaches us is if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all.''
(Author unknown)
It's easy to fill our lives with trivia, fluff and extraneous bits and pieces. Things we think we should do, things we feel we ought to do and even things we do out of habit that we don't get much reward from.
Of course there are things that life simply dictates we have to do; for instance I'm sure many would love to only work a couple of days a week rather than full-time but the bank may get a little twitchy when we can't pay our mortgage!
So, some of those big rocks might be dictated by needing to do certain things, but not all of them. Some of those big rocks need to be the things that matter most, and those things will be different for each of us.
Many people talk about having a bucket list, a list of things they want to achieve in their lifetime. They might involve travelling somewhere exotic, or seeing some local attractions, of doing something exciting (skydiving?) or learning a new language. The list is endless and constrained only by your imagination!
If you type "bucketlist'' into a search engine you'll find websites with ideas galore and templates to use to keep them updated.
Writing your "big rocks'' down, makes them more real. Have some fun with your list.
So what's important to you? What are your big rocks? Put them in your bucket now!
Jan Aitken is a Dunedin-based life coach.
• For more go to www.fitforlifecoaches.co.nz.
Twitter:@jan-aitken
