One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.
As he stood in front of the group of overachievers he said, “OK, time for a quiz.” He pulled out a one-gallon , wide-mouthed jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also 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 yelled, “Yes.” The time management expert replied, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel . He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, “Is this jar full?”
By this time the class was on to 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 the jar and it went into all of 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 at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager student 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 in 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? Time with your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you'll never get them in at all.”
有一天，一位时间管理专家给一群学生演讲，为了把一个观点讲清楚，他举了一个让学生们难忘的例子。
他站在这群优等生面前说：“好了，现在是小测验时间。”他拿出一个容量有一加仑的、大口的缸子放在身前的桌面上。他还拿出了十二块拳头大小的石头，仔细地把它们摆进缸子里去，一次只摆一个。等到缸子里石头到顶了，再也装不进一颗的时候，他问：“这缸子满了吗？”
教室里所有人喊道：“满了。”时间管理专家反问他们：“真的吗？”他伸手往桌子下面摸去，拎出了一桶沙砾。他往缸子里倒沙砾，又摇了摇缸子，让沙砾能够从大石头中间的缝隙里渗下去。然后，他又问这组学生：“这个缸子满了吗？”
这次，学生们识透了他的思路。“应该没满。”其中一个学生回答。“很好！”他说。他又伸手往桌子下面摸，拿出了一桶沙子。他开始往缸子里倒沙子。沙子填满了石头、沙砾间的所有空隙。他又问：“这个缸子满了吗？”
“没有满！”全班喊道。他又说：“好！”然后，他拿来一罐水，开始往缸子里倒，一直倒到水没住缸子的边沿。然后，他看着全班问：“这个演示说明了什么呢？”一个学生迫不及待地举手说：“说明不论你的日程有多满，只要你真正努力，你还是可以往日程里塞进更多的事情来做！”
“不对，”演讲者说：“不是这个意思。这个演示告诉我们这样一个真相，那就是如果你不先把大石头放进去，就永远也放不进去了。生活里的‘大石头'都有些什么呢？和你爱的人在一起的时间、你的教育、你的梦想、值得做的事业、教书又或是育人？记得先把大石头放进去，否则就永远也放不进去了。”
-gallon [ˈɡælən] n. 加仑(容量单位)
-gravel [ˈɡrævl] n. 沙砾；碎石
-pitcher [ˈpɪtʃə(r)] n. 大水罐
把大大小小的生活目标理清先后顺序，才能最大限度地避免本末倒置和得不偿失。