How about them Marbles?

Confessions of a procrastinator with 3D proof of productivity

I was on TikTok the other day and listened to a talk from a procrastination coach. He was streaming live and the thing that stuck with me was his use of marbles in a cup to represent one thing he’s done for the day. He talked about a lot of other things, but this concept of proof intrigued me.

No matter how much proof I have that I did something in my day, I almost never think it’s enough. As my own boss I make my own schedule. At lunchtime, I’m often habitually drawn to eating in front of the television. I’ve spent years of my life watching television when I do the math. Often times watching four hours a day. Even if I consider days I watch less, on any given week I’ve usually spent at least 24 hours in front of the TV.

That adds up to six weeks a year or if you just look at that as working days, 156.

If I took a marble for every hour I sat in front of the television per year, I’d need a container large enough to hold 1,248 marbles. I sit at the high-end of average for the general adult population.

Even though I’m not alone, I often let this bad habit fill me with guilt and I fail to look at all the other marbles. This week I did and it made me feel a little less shame for my day towards the end.

I write one hour every morning - one light blue marble. I work on marketing or marketing planning of my debut novel - one yellow marble. I work on three sections of a course I’m creating with another geek in my industry - three clear marbles. I work on projects that help nonprofits with their technology - four to six dark blue marbles. I do self-care: make myself meals, go on a walk, spend time with my husband, listening to an audiobook - four or five brownish red marbles.

On the day I’m writing this, I’m going to a pottery making class for my best friend’s birthday. The fun marble. I wish I could say it was a multi-color marble, but I’m just using a Mancala game and it’s yet another shade of blue.

I think this week I’ll put an intention to use up all the Mancala marbles and have to go to the store to get more. But I have come to the conclusion that this is better than a checklist. This 3-d manifestation of all the effort I’ve put forth towards chasing my dreams makes a difference at the end of a day when I’ve felt like I’ve wasted time in front of the boob tube to see all the other colors I’m painting in my soul.