SETTING PRIORITIES: WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Tell participants: Think about how each of these activities robs you of the time required to complete tasks and focus on priorities—how it reduces your ability to do what you need to do.

Then go over the list and ask the participants to quietly evaluate for themselves if the item occurs ALWAYS, SOMETIMES, or RARELY.

 

 

Chatting or texting Talking to unexpected visitors Doing tasks that others are capable of and willing to do Doing nothing while standing in line Not planning ahead for meals Going to routinely scheduled meetings Checking email each time an alert prompts that you have a message Surfing the Internet Not planning your day

Watching TV, Netflix, etc. Hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock to get up as late as possible Shuffling materials (food, work, etc.) from one table or area to another without putting anything away Running errands without optimizing your drive time Playing video games before doing homework Going to social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, etc.)

 

 

PEBBLES IN THE JAR

Show an empty jar.

Say: This jar represents your time.

Add medium-sized rocks to the jar until it cannot hold any more.

Say: These rocks are the goals and commitments that are important to you. If you believe this jar is full, stand up.

Now add pebbles to the jar.

Say: The pebbles represent things that you want to do, but don’t need to do. These things matter to you, but not as much as your goals and commitments. Notice that there is room for them in the jar because they fill in the gaps around the rocks.

Next add sand until the jar appears to be full.

Say: This sand represents the small, much less important but still time-consuming activities that you do during a day.

Ask: What is the point of this demonstration? Explorers may say that no matter how full your schedule, you can always fit more into it. However, this answer is incorrect.

Say: The real moral of this activity is that you can make time for your big rocks, but only if you put them into the schedule first and then fit everything else around and between them. It may be easier to pour the smaller things into the jar, but if they fill too much of the jar, there will be less room for your big rocks.

Ask: So what things will fill your jar through the rest of today?