"Occasionally, I would focus on a particular school project and become obsessed with, what seemed to my mother, to be trivial details instead of apportioning the time I spent on school work in a more efficient way"

This quote by Steven Chu talks to the importance of time management. He reflects on his own experience of becoming excessively focused on small details of a school project, rather of using his time more efficiently. This suggests that he was not managing his time well, which his mother was worried about this. It is a pointer to all of us that we must be mindful of how we use our time, and to not end up being too preoccupied with small information that may not be as crucial as other jobs. Time management is an important ability to have, and this quote works as a pointer to be conscious of how we utilize our time.