You may have heard the story of the professor who walked into her classroom pushing a cart holding various containers. On top of the cart was a clear glass jar. The professor opened up a box, showing that it was full of rocks. She began placing the rocks in the jar until she reached the top. She asked the students if the jar was full and they all agreed that it was. The professor opened a second box, filled with sand and poured that into the jar, filling the space between the rocks, until she reached the top. Once again she asked the students if the jar was full and they all agreed that it was. Then she grabbed a pitcher of water and began pouring it into the jar, soaking the sand and filling up empty space.

Looking at the students, the professor pointed out that, even when the students believed that the jar was full, there was always more space. However, if she had begun by putting the water or the sand in the jar first, there would have been no room for the rocks.
In our lives, the things that matter most to us are the rocks. When we fill our lives with sand and water, we don’t have space for the things that really matter.

That’s why it’s so important to set priorities. Creating priorities helps us to get the rocks in the jar first so that they always fit. Then we can fill up the rest of the jar with other things.

So, for the rest of July, the blog posts will be looking at setting and scheduling priorities so that you can spend your time, energy, and money on the things that really matter to you.