Like most folks, I’m lazy. Each new day brings some new mundane task which has to be done but I fob it off and leave it to future Greg to deal with. But future Greg never gets it done because he has a clever plan, to pass it on to future future Greg. And so nothing gets done.

Apps apps everywhere

Not wanting to burn out future Greg, and because some of the mundane tasks must simply be done, naturally as an engineer I turn to software. I know I’ll add all my stuff to Google Tasks and keep track of it all there. But however good my intentions are I fail to keep on top of this list, frustrated with the stuff that is piling up.

I’ve tried a plethora of productivity apps and no matter how beautifully designed they are, no matter how feature complete they are with reminders, due dates, progress updates, habit tracking and so on, it has always failed for me to keep on top of.

I have a couple of theories as to why this is:

All these software solutions naturally come with their software distractions. Our attention is a hotly contested commodity and with so much to distract us on our phones/computers, it doesn’t naturally fit with a desire to be more focused.
A lack of fulfillment. Computers are wonderful pierces of technology but they have one significant limitation, there’s nothing physical about them. When you check off a item on the list there’s no satisfying crossing an item out or moving of anything other than a mouse cursor (I do remember Wunderlist did make a satisfying sound).

So I de-digitized and made my todo lists physical. I’m currently utilizing 3 different kinds:

1) Metal ball bearing in glass vase

2) Mini Clipboard with daily check list

3) Air traffic control inspired todo list.

(I know I’m good with naming stuff)

In this post I’ll cover the first one.

Metal ball bearing in glass vase

I have a health related task that I simply must do in order to improve or maintain my condition. I’ve spent hundreds of hours doing these tasks but when the dust has settled what do I have to show for it. How can I visibly see this effort and feel a sense of pride in these hundreds of hours.

In theory if I stick at these tasks over a long period of time, I should see improvement, and if not improvement, a maintaining of my current health.

So I took an empty flower vase, bought some small metal ball bearings and started dropping one into the container after completing these tasks:

A good design hits as many of our senses as possible: sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. Let’s evaluate this design against the senses:

Sight. Obviously it is visible but it has a distinct advantage over software solutions in that it’s always visible. It sits in a place I walk by each day and not only does it remind me of the tasks I’m trying to do but also the significant amount of effort I have already put into doing it.
Touch. The small steel balls are smooth and have a nice weight to them, like the task that I have done has weight/value.
Sound. As you pick a ball out of the bowl it makes a nice jangly noise and when you drop them into the vase it makes a satisfying thud. Slowly as the vase fills the sound changes, anther marker of progress.
Smell. There is no smell.
Taste. Are you kidding?! I’m not going to taste this!

More than this is the strong symbolism this design emits. A single daily effort not amounting to much by itself but that over time, day after day, task after task, this effort amounts to something significant. It reminds me of this dialog from Cloud Atlas in the scene where they discuss the futile effort of a single person in the fight against slavery:

“And for What?, For What? No matter what you do it will never amount to anything more but a single drop in a limitless ocean.”

“But what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”

Iteration

No design is perfect (maybe I can use strawberry flavored steel balls?) so in a later design iteration, thanks to a great idea from my daughter, we added this funnel and so you get an even more enjoyable whoosh whoosh woosh dink as the ball spins round and drops, like those old 2p spiral machines.

Is it the most beautiful thing, no, but it has meaning to me because my daughter came up with the idea.

As I’ve said, this whole thing sits in a place in my house that I walk past at least once a day. It reminds me that I have this effort to do. It reminds me to be proud of the effort that I have already exerted. It keeps me hopeful that if I keep going I will improve my health.

Next steps

I’m now a year into using this and I have used it far more than I have any app. I have further ideas for improving it. It would be great to make it look more visually appealing, like something you’d proudly display on your coffee table. I’m also curious about what can be achieved by blending the physical design with a software solution.

Give it a try and let us know what you think.