Brian Tracy On Organizing Your Time

TIME MANAGEMENT

One day an expert In time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he 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 mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He then 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”? Every one in the class said, “Yes”. The expert 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 space between the big rocks. He asked the group once more, “is the jar full?” By this time the class was on 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 beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full 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?. Your children…. Your Loved ones….. Education….. Your dreams….. A worthy cause… Teaching or mentoring others….. Doing things that you love…. Time for your self….. Your health ……. Your significant other….

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’all never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you’all fill your life with little things you worry about that don’t really matter, and you’all never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big important stuff (the big rocks)

Ask your self this question : ‘What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

Source : Brian Tracy.com

Make Every Minute Count

By: Brian Tracy

Time management is the central skill of success. Your ability to manage your time, to focus and channel your energies on your highest value tasks, will determine your rewards and your level of accomplishment in life more than any other factor.

Save Hundreds of Hours and Thousands of Dollars in Personal Advancement

Your mind is your most precious asset. You must be continually working to increase the quality of your thinking. One of the best ways is to turn driving time into learning time. Listen to educational CDs or audio cassettes in your car. The average driver, according to the American Automobile Association, drives 12,000 to 25,000 miles each year, spending 500 to 1000 hours that you spend each year in your car. That is the equivalent of 12 1/2 to 25 forty-hour weeks. This is the same as two full university semesters spent behind the wheel of your car each year.

Use Traveling Time as Learning Time

If you did nothing but use that traveling time as learning time, this decision alone could make you one of the best educated people of your generation. Many people have gone from rags to riches simply by listening to audio programs as they drive to and from work.

Attend Every Seminar

In addition, for personal and professional development, you should attend every seminar you can. You can often save yourself 100's of hours of reading and researching by attending a seminar given by an authority in his or her field. You can learn ideas, techniques and methods that can save you hours, days, even months of hard work and research on your own.

Increase Your Earnings

Remember, to earn more, you must learn more. Your outer world of results will always correspond to your inner world of preparation. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.

Action Exercises

Now, here are two things you can do to put these ideas to work in your life immediately.

First, purchase an audio program that can help you to be happier and more effective today. Begin listening to it immediately. Resolve never to listen to music in your car when you can turn driving time into learning time.

Second, seek out seminars and training programs given by experts in your field. Sit close to the front, take careful notes, and apply the best ideas that you learn immediately.





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