Juggling Your Tasks: What’s Plastic and What’s Glass?
Think about the tasks you complete daily – do you ever feel like you can’t possibly keep up with everything? We’ve all been there. There are so many things that we are juggling each day, trying desperately to not drop a ball.
The idea of juggling glass and plastic balls stems from a commencement speech that Bryan Dyson of Coca-Cola gave back in 1991. While his speech centered around five specific balls that one juggles throughout life, at The Goalden System, we’ve used this mentality to help our clients expand how they think about the day-to-day tasks as well.
Picture it - you’re standing there completely frozen with tasks and obligations swirling around you. How do you determine which balls are glass and which ones are plastic? If you drop a task at work will it shatter or bounce back up? What about if you fail to arrive at pickup on time for your child – will the ball smash or bounce?
Tasks and obligations that shatter, or glass balls, are those that can completely change the trajectory of a situation. They are the balls that would let down your family, friends, or yourself in a large manner. For example, if you ignore your health concerns, the dropped ball will break and cause damage to your overall well-being.
Plastic balls are those that, if dropped, will not break. There may be some consequences to the ball being dropped, but it will result in a minor inconvenience rather than a crisis. For example, not having a costume for your child’s theme week would be considered a plastic ball. Would your child like to have a costume? Sure, but nothing catastrophic will happen if they show up without a costume. Imagine being at work and your project timeline has hit a bump because of a delivery being late. Will this be an inconvenience? Absolutely, but it won’t shatter the entire project.
These examples seem to paint a clear line between the glass and plastic balls that you’re juggling, but we would be amiss if we didn’t acknowledge that sometimes it isn’t so clear. When trying to determine what the ball you’re juggling is made out of, ask yourself, “What will happen if it falls?” and then “What are the next steps after it hits the ground?” These questions can help you determine what material the ball is made out of.
Truth be told, sometimes things may seem like they are glass balls when really they aren’t. It’s important to embrace that all the balls are not glass - we promise. In order to work on properly prioritizing tasks and obligations, it’s vital that you truly reflect in order to move forward appropriately. We also want to note that just because a ball is dropped now doesn’t mean that you can’t pick it back up. Remember, you only have two hands, so be kind to yourself and remember that you can’t juggle everything all at once.
Need help working through prioritizing your tasks? We’ve got you covered! Schedule a time to connect with us for a FREE consultation here.
