The Jellybean Equation – The Answer to my Productivity Problems

Today is the anniversary of the death of our baby son. I’m riding London to Paris in 2024 for Sands – the stillbirth and neonatal death charity that supported our family. Training for my ride started a few weeks ago. Sponsoring me would mean the world to me personally, and would support an amazing charity.

I’m writing about my progress to keep myself accountable. This has made me a bit philosophical, and I find myself pondering my attitude towards training. I’ve not been in the mood, with life getting in the way and bad weather on top. I’m doing it, but it’s hard.

As I encounter mental barriers and physical limitations, I return to the idea of controlling what's within our power and choosing how we respond. Drawing inspiration from the incredible Debra Searle, Walden, and a 10-year-old YouTube video, I’ve developed a tool – the Jellybean Equation – that could help me make sense of it all.

Control the Controllables

One of the defining moments in my development journey came a few years ago when listening to Debra Searle speak at a conference. Back in 2001 Debra, along with her then-husband, entered a 3000-mile double-handed rowing race across the Atlantic. Debra’s husband was taken ill early on and had to be rescued from the boat. Rather than be rescued alongside him, Debra stayed aboard and kept going alone, which she did for a total of 111 days to reach Barbados. The punchline is that she’d never ever rowed before. WOW.

Debra taught me what she calls ‘controlling the controllables’ – exactly what she did on that boat. Debra chose to control her attitude. She faced incredible adversity head-on and succeeded in spectacular style, because she chose to face up to her situation with bravery and enthusiasm.

Debra’s story inspired me to take control of my own attitude and is central to much of my development during the last decade. It has helped me immeasurably: from improving my golf game to dealing with crippling, all-consuming grief. Right now, Debra’s words are key to me choosing to train, even when I don’t want to, and choosing the attitude with which I train.

The Jellybean Equation

It’s not like I’m rowing the Atlantic single-handedly like Debra did, but if you’re time-poor with a few (many) extra pounds (lb, not £££), training can be hard. Choosing to find opportunity in the challenge – the opportunity to claim back time for something meaningful – was a huge unlock and led to me developing the Jellybean Equation – a tool to evaluate whether I choose to spend time on something.

Our time is symbolised by jellybeans. Most of us start life with lots of jellybeans, but daily responsibilities quickly consume them. This poignant video may help you to visualize it. How many jellybeans do I have left? Is it a sack full, or is it just one?

Building on this idea: I considered Walden, where Thoreau established that “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it.”

It was then that I realised that a simple equation is the solution:

Worth = Value – Cost.

If you like formulae, this is the full version: Worth=(V×P×E)−(C×I) – see footnote for a full explanation.

Without knowing how many I have left - if something is going to cost me jellybeans from my stash, how many must I spend and is it worth it?

Where does this fit in with not being lazy and getting myself Paris-fit?

Simple: the Jellybean Equation is Debra’s 'controlling the controllables' at its finest! The ONLY thing in our lives over which we have genuine control, is how we use our time. Debra could have spent 111 days with her feet up in front of the TV. However, she chose to spend those jellybeans alone, on a boat, rowing the Atlantic.

Debra and Thoreau have given me the tools to forge the discipline to use my time in an intentional and meaningful way, like train for an epic bike ride. Like I did three times this week, in the rain and - at times - in a mood. But I still did it, thanks to Walden, and thanks to Debra. Each of us has our own 'Jellybean Equation' to solve. How do you determine the worth of your time and actions? Let me know if you want to inspire me, or read Debra’s book if you want to be inspired.

Footnote

The Jellybean Equation is a tool I developed to help determine whether the value you derive from an activity is worth the time investment. It can be used easily in a spreadsheet:

Worth=(V×P×E)−(C×I)

Activity Cost (C): every activity will have a cost in jellybeans. This is the time spent on the activity.

Activity Value (V): the perceived value or benefit of the activity, which might not be measured in jellybeans but in a unit of joy, meaning, or fulfilment.

Intensity Modifier (I): the more intense the activity, the more jellybeans it 'costs'.

Subjective Personal Modifier (P): represents personal preferences or priorities. Some activities might be more valuable to one person than to another.

External Factors Modifier (E): modifies either the cost or the value depending on its nature. For instance, doing an activity on a day with great weather might increase its value, while doing it in a stressful environment might increase its cost. You could decide if E modifies V or C. For our purpose here, we'll assume E modifies the value, as it affects the overall enjoyment of the activity.

The result will give an idea of the net worth of the activity in terms of value versus the life/time cost. If the result is positive, the activity provides good value for the jellybeans spent; if negative, one might reconsider whether the activity is worth the time and effort.