Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Time Management Induced Panic Attacks

You all have seen this one, right?

Start with an empty glass.

Now fill it with rocks.


big-rocks-in-jar

Is it full?
(Uh yes. Just said to fill it with rocks.)
Can you fit any more in?
Oh yeah.

Next comes the gravel,
pour a bunch in and shake it down.


How about now?
Completely full yet?
No way.
Fill that baby with sand.
Shake her down.


Now we've got something like this:



Is it full now?
(Can we stop yet?)
Nope.
Time for:



WATER!
Fill 'er up!
Now the potential of the glass has been reached.

This demonstration is supposed to show that
you should put first things first.
(A la Stephen Covey)
Because if you try putting the sand in first
you cannot fit in the rocks
which represent the important things in life.
If you try something silly
like putting the sand in first,
you'd get something more like this:


And that's a little
OVERWHELMING!


The thing any rational person should be asking themselves is:

WHY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH
ARE WE TRYING TO GET
THAT MUCH CRAP IN OUR GLASS?

I feel the same way about appointment calendars with 15-minute increments.
Professional Hardcover Weekly Planner, 15-Minute Appointments, 8-1/2 x 11, Black
No offense to my organized friends. Love you.

21 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I barely even use a calendar!!

*MARY* said...

This blog post completely changed my life.

Heidi said...

So funny! And so true! I remember this analogy being spouted from the pulpit (oops, that did come out wrong) when I was veeeeerrry young, long before Stephen Covey was writing books. I wonder whose idea it was originally?

Jami said...

Even the thought of trying to fit that much stuff into my life makes me twitch.

Anonymous said...

How clever!

mindyluwho said...

I LOVE your perspective! Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to toss out my glass...

Annette Lyon said...

Holy crap, this just brings me so much joy!

Krista said...

Oh, that's good. That is REAALLY GOOD. THANK YOU!!!

The Crash Test Dummy said...

OMGoodness! Amen sistah! Do you ever feel like if your body could step back and float outside your reality you'd be surprised at what a pointless rat race you're enabling. It's like we're all spinning in circles and chasing our tales.

Anyways, that analogy was incorrect. You're s'pose to use golf balls and rice.

Kristina P. said...

Jami, yes, you can take them out of the boxes! Woohoo!

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Oh Jamie, I hope you'll still be my friend after my most recent post. It's one of my darkest secrets.

Anonymous said...

I love this post.

I do like big-picture organization so I try to make sure I can fit the rocks in my glass (which is sometimes very very tricky) but I do not like drinking wet sand.

also known as shell said...

love it babe! so true. I try to get planners but they never work out for me!

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Jami, I saw that you were signed up to attend Kristina P.'s Snuggie's for Seniors lunch. Did I misinterpret?

I was soooo excited to meet you. I went almost solely for that purpose. I was driving up to Salt Lake with mixed emotions. FIRST and FOREMOST: excitement to meet you. And second, super mad that you hadn't told me you were in town.

BUMMER YOU weren't there. But I met Sue for you because I know how much you LUB her.

You're welcome!

* said...

Love this!

NatureGirl said...

Good point! I hopped over from MMB and the NorCal group...nice to meet you!

Leslie

Cheeseboy said...

Steven Covey is the absolute best geologist out there.

NLS 1993 said...

That. was awesome.

Mama Pike said...

I really like this reminder. Very good post. I liked the photos.

deila taylor said...

great surprise ending--and I must admit I have felt guilty that I did not buy a planner this year, but it was in the middle of a move and chaos--so why fix it now?

Alison Wonderland said...

I love this post and because of it I love you.