An instructor at a time-management seminar once filled up a jar with rocks and asked the audience if the jar was full. When they responded yes, he took out small pebbles and poured them into the jar to fill the cracks. He asked again if the jar was full and then proceeded to fill the jar with sand. When he asked what the lesson is, one participant said "There are gaps, and if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life." "No," the instructor responded "The point is this: if you hadn't put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in? Source: First Things First by Stephen Covey pp. 88-89.
R. Zelig Reuven Bengis was accustomed to finishing the entire Talmud every few months. Shortly after completing a cycle, he called his family to commemorate the completion of the Talmud. When his family members inquired how he was able to finish so quickly, he responded "This is not my ordinary cycle. Rather, I started to notice that when I would attend certain events, I had five minutes here and ten minutes there, so I started to carry my Talmud with me. This gathering is to commemorate my completion of the Talmud from the many five and ten minute opportunities that I had. (Kovetz Beit Hillel, Vol. 34, pp. 14-15)

How do we make the most of our time? Let's look at the following scenarios:
CASE ONE
Andrew looks forward to spending a few hours on Sunday relaxing by catching up with his friends on Facebook and reading all of the jokes he received during the week. This Sunday, he also has a long list of things to do around the house. What should take priority?
CASE TWO
Shira is trying to cook for Shabbat while talking on the phone helping her friend through a crisis. She notices that she is not concentrating so well on the conversation or the cooking, but she may not have time to finish cooking after the conversation. What should she do?
CASE THREE
About a minute into his trip home from school, Jonathan realizes that he left his knapsack at school. He knows that if he asks Mrs. Goldstein to turn around, she certainly will, but he is not sure if he should burden everyone else in the car or just deal with it when he gets home. What should he do?

Let's begin by reading an excerpt of a poem authored by R. Yehuda HaLevi

Rambam teaches us an important lesson about the focus of our daily activities:

Rambam's comments give us a further appreciation of R. Yehuda HaLevi's poem. All of our daily activities should be in context of our service of God. When all of life's activities have the same ultimate purpose, one can prioritize and balance a busy life and decide what is most important. The laws of nature, including the concept of time, are our partners in accomplishing our goals and are also considered servants of God. If one is not conscientious of Rambam's idea, it is difficult to prioritize what is important. Time now controls what gets done and one becomes subservient to time and a servant's servant because time itself is a servant of God.

What do you think it is meant by Yackov sitting in tents?

What is the Seforno saying about the plural tents?
What might this tell us about how were supposed to spend our time?