text: Grains of sand signify small, time-consuming tasks that are relatively easy to do but are of little importance, filling in the leftover space. Things like text messages, constant email checking, and idle chit-chat all take time but generate little benefit.
  The final component, water, fills in what little space remains and represents the tasks and idle moments that fill all the remaining space.
  The key to using the Pickle Jar Theory is to be aware of which tasks are “rocks,” providing large benefits and requiring immediate attention. Once you know which tasks are “rocks,” you can turn your attention to the “sand,” paring it away to make room for more rocks. Various techniques can be used to diminish the number of grains of sand in the jar.
  This resource discusses a technique known as batching. Batching is a way to combine many small tasks into one block of time, such as reviewing one’s email inbox only once or twice each day instead of four times an hour, leading to less time wasted on “sand.” Techniques like batching, however, rely on an understanding of the Pickle Jar Theory. Being able to determine which tasks are unnecessary “sand” will allow you to focus your attention on the “rocks” and “pebbles.”
  The 80/20 Rule is similar to the Pickle Jar Theory in that it suggests people can work smarter by concentrating on the important things from which they derive the most benefit. Activities that reap the greatest benefit, represented by the rocks in the pickle jar, are the 20% of the activities that should consume 80% of your time in the 80/20 rule.
  Economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 80 percent of his native Italy’s wealth was held by 20 percent of the population. You might conclude that a theory regarding wealth distribution in a single country has nothing to do with time management. Still, the relationship between 80% and 20% holds in several other areas as well, including time management.
  The 80/20 rule, in its broader form, says that a small number of causes is responsible for a large percentage of the effect, in a ratio of about 20:80. In time management, you will often find that 20% of your tasks generate 80% of the results or that 20% of tasks absorb 80% of available time. By finding the ideal 20% of your tasks to spend 80% of your energy on, you can avoid wasting time or effort.
  Parkinson’s Law is simple and straightforward: the time required to complete a particular task will expand according to the amount of time it is allotted. Giving yourself less time to do something will lead to faster completion. Slowly reduce the time allotted for any given task, and eventually, you’ll find the sweet spot in which it gets completed without feeling rushed. Like the other theories, this changes the way you approach using your time, illustrating that less time can lead to better, more effective work.
  Cyril Northcote Parkinson was a British author who once observed this phenomenon firsthand. Assigning two hours to complete a task that could be completed in less than one hour will result in the two hours being consumed anyway, but with the excess hour spent on planning, worrying, and agonizing. People will almost always fill all assigned time, but they fill it with changes if they have too much excess.
  Interested in testing the theory? Try allocating half as much time each morning to a mundane task like checking your email. If necessary, set a timer. You will likely find yourself dealing with each item in your email account’s inbox a little faster. At the end of the time, look at how much you accomplished in the time you set. The odds are good that you’ll exceed your own expectations.
  Before you go too far congratulating yourself for a job well done, try cutting the time again the following day. As you continue to allow yourself less time, you will likely begin prioritizing only those emails that actually matter, skimming subject lines and dumping spam, advertisements, or other meaningless messages. Your attention will zero in on the most important emails that must be addressed immediately.
  This exercise helps people pare away unnecessary worrying, planning, and frivolousness, finding the tasks that truly need to be completed. Parkinson’s Law should help you maintain awareness of the essential time to complete any task or project. Try allowing yourself a little less time than you think you need; the odds are good that you’ll only need the time you set aside.
  A Google search will yield more than 42 million results for time management tips, so simply finding a system or a helpful tool is easy. Before you download the latest program or application that promises to turn your computer, smartphone, or tablet into an instant time management tool, though, look at how you work and make time management decisions. Consider what changes really need to be made to become more productive.
  Ultimately, your goal is to make better decisions about how you use your time. Transforming your work takes a commitment from you, but the biggest impact you’ll make comes not from the system you choose but from a few simple steps you take that don’t involve any system. These techniques are the 20% of your adjustments that will get you 80% of the results you want to be more productive.
  Clearing your head provides some structure for all the tasks you need to do and makes everything else that much easier. The first step in the head-clearing process is to create an “inbox,” allowing you to collect and sort all the things bouncing around in your mind. Sorting tasks does not require the task to be completed; rather, you start by putting the items currently locked in your psyche into an inbox to unclutter your mind. Once freed of the clutter, your mind is clear when you start completing important tasks.
  Most people have many tasks bouncing around in their head all at once, with no sense of priority or gravity. These tasks range from getting the car washed to sending out multi-million dollar contracts to take your company to the next level. If you do not have a system in place that you trust to remind you when things need to be done, your mind will essentially create one on its own, reminding you of the importance of varying tasks from moment to moment.
  Unfortunately, the system your mind creates on its own is completely arbitrary. These reminders do not always come at appropriate times, leading to increased stress and feelings of helplessness. Your mind may helpfully remind you of your need for a car wash, in the above example, while you sit at your desk at work, making important phone calls regarding those contracts. Of course, the car wash is an impossibility at that moment, and thinking about the car wash doesn’t get your car any more washed. Instead, these thoughts divert your attention from the phone call, leaving you without important details or repeatedly asking for clarification.
  Clearing your head of the “stuff,” as author David Allen refers to anything that requires your attention, is the first step in an effective time management method called “Getting Things Done.” According to Allen, the stuff taking up space in your mind is just like the data that piles up in your computer’s RAM. Eventually, the RAM can’t cope, and it starts slowing down; your mind, without a system for organizing the “stuff,” will do the same.
  Getting rid of the clutter starts by creating an inbox into which you may transfer it. An inbox can be an expandable folder, a loose-leaf notebook, a program on your computer, or an application on your smartphone or tablet. Any format you choose for your inbox will work as long as it is one that you will use and which you are confident will remind you of tasks that need to be done when they need to be done. Your mind no longer needs to keep the car wash in “active memory,” as you are certain you’ll be reminded of anything important the next time you open your notebook.