How a glass jar can help you improve productivity

A professor once told their class a story about rocks, pebbles, sand and water which can be adapted to our working life.  In the story, a glass jar represents the time you have each day and each item that goes into it represents an activity. The larger the item added, the greater their importance.  

Rocks:  Fill your glass jar with rocks first, planning each day around your most important tasks that will propel you toward achieving your goals.  These represent your highset priority tasks, with the greatest value.  If these are not placed in first, you may discover that you have no room for them at all.

Pebbles:  Next fill the space between the rocks with pebbles.  These represent tasks that are both urgent and important, but contribute less to your overall goals.  Without proper planning, these tasks can quickly fill your day and distract you from the bigger picture.

Sand:  Now add sand to fill your jar.  These activities are usually routine or maintenance tasks that do not directly contribute to your goals. Just like daily life admin.

Water:  Finally add your water.  These trivial time-wasting activities are neither important nor urgent and take you away from working toward high return activities and your goals.

If you’re looking for ways to better manage your time, check out our range of planners.