of golf balls and sand

I was thinking the other day about the golf ball theory of time management, which was a viral internet “thing” a few years back. It was a teacher who first put sand in a clear glass pitcher and showed that after you did that, you couldn’t add any golf balls because the sand took up all the space. But if you put the golf balls in first, the sand would make its way around the larger golf balls.

The golf balls of course being a metaphor for what you actually want to spend your time on—what makes you happy—and the sand being all the tiny things that don’t matter much.

I think about this a lot, because I’m pretty good at actually doing it. I don’t spend that much time on sand: scrolling on my phone, watching TV, worrying about things that don’t affect me. Sure, I do all of those things. But I spend more time on the things that I care about and that make me happy: my family, reading, writing, work, health. It feels good to prioritize these things first, like I’m taking charge of my own life. I don’t get to the end of the day wondering where it went, most of the time or not having any fun. Most of the time because I’ve done what I wanted, I can fill in the details with whatever else.

If you’re struggling to find happiness, think about putting it first. It really does help.