It's all your business: a matter of time: the big rocks.(Professional Resources)

A common resolution at this time of year is vowing to make more time for things that are important. Wouldn't we all love to improve our time management, including the efficiency of our business practices? Executive Director and CEO of MTNA Gary Ingle related the following story at a recent leadership meeting:

 
      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" and he pulled out a one-gallon 
   mason 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 the 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 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 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." 

Whether thinking of my teaching or the business aspects of my studio, I have often pondered this parable--have I focused on the "big rocks" first? In my previous column (August/September AMT, I advocated annual attention to one's studio policy--editing, updating and communicating it with fresh perspective each year. This is an example of a big rock in our studio business. When we take care of this big rock first, stating and clarifying our policies, then many issues are rendered non-debatable and parents don't need to call or interrupt lessons with questions. When we take care of a big rock, there are fewer small rocks to occupy our time and energy. Our studio business becomes more efficient and productive.

The best methods for improving the efficiency of your business will depend on what works best for you. ...