31 Days: Place the Big Rocks First

There’s a popular analogy that goes like this,

A teacher showed a large glass jar to his class. He proceeded to fill the jar with large rocks, then asked, ”Is the jar full?” They agreed that it was.

Then he picked up a box of pebbles, poured them into the jar, and shook lightly. The pebbles rolled between the rocks. Not quite full.

Next the teacher picked up a box of sand and poured that over the large rocks and pebbles. The sand filled all the empty spaces. Then the teacher explained this was an illustration of our life. If we place the sand (the “small stuff”) first, there will not be room for the large rocks (the most important things). But if we prioritize, and place the big rocks first, we can fit much, much more.

This is definitely more of a do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do concept, because prioritizing (placing my big rocks first)  is something that I usually struggle with. In the back of my mind I know though, if I’m keeping my priorities straight, I’m acting as a more “intentional parent” and my kids (who I say are my “priorities”) are less likely to hear, “not right now, maybe later, when I finish…”

There will always be time for catching up on e-mail, and washing the dishes, but there won’t always be time for tea parties, bug hunts, and snuggles during storytime, so those are the big rocks that must come first.