Sandy-gram

[#1]

In the current issue of Going Places, I decided to write about time management. “There’s just not enough time in the day!” seems to be the new mantra. In my own life, I’m all about lists…there’s a daily one for work, a weekend one for home, the ongoing “need to do” list of personal stuff…you name it, and I’ve got a list for it. In fact, I can get a bit loopy about it…even creating excel documents (easily turned into the even more obsessive color-coded charts). When I decided to truly research time management, I came across the most interesting theory…organizing your life via a pickle jar.

I found over 450 million websites devoted to the topic. You’ve got those that support the “big book” concept…you’re entire life in an organizer binder via a series of calendar pages, reminder memo sheets, all-inclusive wallet-type holder, (...am I REALLY going to put my credit cards in my organizer?), and task generating notes.

There’s also the philosophy of prioritization, which ironically, is what the Pickle Jar Theory is all about. But, instead of making it complicated, they take the easy approach and make it visual. 

Here’s how the pickle jar theory work. (Read the entire article in Going Places.)

The Pickle Jar Theory helps you visualize your priorities, as well as the amount and size of tasks that can be done realistically on a given day.

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How It Works...

To plan your day, imagine a large empty pickle jar.

     1) Take three or four large rocks and add them to the jar.
     2) Now take a small handful of pebbles and toss them in, jiggling it a bit to make them fit.
     3) Next, add a handful of sand.
     4) Now fill the remaining space in the jar with water.

There's a lot of stuff in your jar. But it's not just the objects, it's the order and volume of each item. If you were to put the water and sand in first, and then your pebbles, very few of the large rocks would fit. Or if you tried to just put in 10 large rocks, they'd break the jar.

Such is the case with planning your day. Identify three or four high priority items that must get done (the rocks), plus a number of smaller, lower priority tasks such as emails, follow-ups, etc. (the pebbles), as well as everyday routine stuff (the sand). And remember that your jar should contain room for family and personal time (the water).

 

             "I just don't have time for time management classes or books."

Why the Pickle Jar Metaphor Works

Your day has a finite amount of time in it, just as the jar has room for only so many rocks on a given day. Rocks (high priority) are always put in the jar first, followed by lower priorities and everyday stuff. Your day should be designed around the way your pickle jar was filled.

The "Pickle Jar" theory helps you take control of your day by learning to make commitments to yourself—commitments you keep. In our busy lives, there are always people (and it tends to be the same people over and over) who will urgently need to put a couple of new rocks in your jar. "Dropping everything" throughout the course of the day to handle unexpected tasks can quickly devastate your overall productivity.

Another downfall of time management is that by putting so many priority items on your list each day, even with a twin you couldn't do it all. This leads to frustration, worry and a constant feeling that you can't get everything done. In all likelihood, you had way too much in your pickle jar—so much in fact, that you set yourself up for failure.

I put the pickle jar theory to a test and tried it in my own life...oddly enough, it actually worked. Yes, it's a little bit of a silly way to prioritization your tasks- but there's something rather satisfying about getting rid of your "big rocks" and emptying your pickle jar everyday!

What do you do to stay organized?

[#2]

I have a little notebook that I've tabbed with different headers and in it I put all sorts of lists, info, ideas, etc. And then I misplace it around the house, under the piles of mail that mysteriously appear in our kitchen. But I find it again! And admire my lists. And then leave the notebook on the counter while I go take a shower, planning to take it with me as the day goes on, in order to check off tasks. That would usually be my dog's cue to grab the notebook and chew on a corner of it. It has forced me to be really creative about how I spend my time because sometimes the day's list is a little slobbery. Ew. I'll have to try the pickle jar technique. Only I would use large dog bones, small biscuits and some chicken broth, because I just know he'll eat that too.

[#3]

As far as organization goes, I've learned that for people who suffer from ADD or ADHD (and I'm beginning to think that we all do to some extent or another) there is a serious problem with finding effective ways to deal with important papers.  Apparently it is critical to have important items remain visible.  I've read that once one important paper is covered by another important paper, the original paper might as well be gone.  Thus, one solution is to use clear folders, or even graduated file holders so that the title of the folder is always visible.  It also helps to use bright colors and highlighters to identify clusters of papers.  As a former teacher, I shared some of these tricks with my organizationally-challenged students and many said that it helped.  My problem is that I have WAY too many folders!

[#4]

Why is it that I'm so much better at organizing other people than I am myself?  My problem is that I am a sentimentalist and I want to keep everything that's remotely connected to someone I love (or have loved) or an event that I enjoyed.  This would be fine if we lived in a house with lots of storage but we don't.  Our house is extremely old and has few closets.  A few have been added, but they are full to bursting.  I need to get brutal, but I can't imagine weeding out most of our kids' things.  I'm not officially a hoarder because I have been able to get rid of bags and bags of clothes and toys and old textbooks. But I do have issues.... Is there anyone else out there who gets what I am saying?