Use the Pickle Jar Theory to Prioritize Your Tasks
Some of our greatest metaphors involve pickles. Nicki Minaj made the case for asserting herself as a woman in a male-dominated industry in 2010 when she stated, ” If I agreed to pickle juice, I’d be drinking pickle juice right now ,” for example. In your quest for professional or personal success, you too can harness the power of pickles to boost your productivity. When you’re trying to figure out how much you can fit in a day, try the “pickle jar theory.”
What is the pickle jar theory?
The pickle jar theory is a great mental exercise for anyone who thinks or processes things visually. It was conceptualized by Jeremy Wright in 2002 based on the idea that a jar of pickles contains a limited amount of content. And your day too. There’s only so much you can do in a day, and there’s only so much you can put in a jar of pickles.
Thinking of your day like a jar of pickles, imagine it filled with three things: rocks, pebbles, and sand. They represent your daily responsibilities, but as you can see, they come in different sizes. You can fit more small items such as sand and pebbles than rocks, but the rocks may still take up half the jar.
How does the pickle jar theory work?
To use this type of thinking, you need to categorize the tasks of your day. Start by writing them all down and then prioritize them using the Eisenhower Matrix , which is useful for figuring out which tasks are urgent and important, urgent and unimportant, not urgent but important, not urgent and unimportant .
Then assign each task to a rock, pebble, or sand, like this:
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“Rocks” are large tasks that are important, need to be completed immediately, and/or will take up most of your time. For example, studying for an exam, finishing a big project at work, or cleaning the house can be challenging tasks.
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Pebbles are something that is important to do, but not necessary or time consuming. You can fit quite a lot of them in a jar, depending on how many stones you have in there.
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Sand symbolizes the little things you need to do to keep your day going or that you just want to get done. It enters the jar last and fills the gaps between larger items. Sand can be anything: answering emails, going to meetings, calling your mom, or relaxing. These aren’t necessarily urgent or time-consuming, but they’re still important to your work and mental well-being.
Visualize yourself putting one to three stones, three to five pebbles, and as much sand as will fit into the jar. Realizing that not everything you need to make can always fit in there, you can make decisions about which rocks, pebbles and bits of sand to leave for the jar the next day.
This works because it gives you a tangible example of your own abilities, but it also reminds you that even when your day is full of “rocks” and “pebbles,” you still have room for “sand.” Remember to let the sand be fun because breaks are an integral part of productivity . Don’t fill the jar with rocks and pebbles to the point that you have no room for sand at all, and don’t forget that other people have their own jars that may not be as full. Consider delegating some of the “rock” tasks to a teammate, be it a colleague or your spouse, or eliminate unnecessary tasks altogether. (In your Eisenhower Matrix, these would be those things that are neither urgent nor important.)
Remembering that your time and energy is limited and focusing on presenting that fact will make prioritization and decision-making easier, allowing you to make room for what you need and ignore what you don’t. To quote Nicki Minaj, it’s cool.