A while back I was reading about an expert on subject of time
management.  One day this expert was speaking to a group of business
students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those
students will never forget.

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered
overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."

Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it
on a  table in front of him.  Then he produced about a dozen
fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into
the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would
fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?"  He
reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he
dumped some gravel in and shook  the jar causing pieces of gravel
to work themselves  down into the spaces between the big rocks.
Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar  full?"

By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them
answered.
"Good!"  he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a
 bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all
the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.  Once more he
asked the question,
"Is this jar full?"

"No!"  the class shouted.  Once again he said, "Good!" Then he
grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar
was filled to the brim. Then he 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's not the point.  The truth this
illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first,
you'll never get them in at all."  What are the 'big rocks' in your
life?  A project that YOU want to accomplish?  Time with your loved
ones?  Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause?  Remember
to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.
So, tonight or in the morning when you are reflecting on this short
story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my
life or business? Then, put those in your jar first.