I recently came across the “Rubber Ball and Glass Ball” theory and found it so interesting, I had to share.
The Glass Ball & Rubber Ball theory is a prioritization framework that suggests life is a game of juggling multiple balls that represent our daily “tasks.”
It’s simple.
Every day we juggle so many things: work life, home life, our online presence. commitments. expectations, family obligations, appointments and so forth.
It can be overwhelming.
But here’s the perspective that really resonated with mi.
Not every ball we’re juggling is the same.
Some are rubber.
Rubber balls can be lower priority. These are flexible, resilient tasks that can be postponed, dropped, or even delegated without permanent damage, things like routine emails, laundry, some work projects, workouts, etc. They can be picked up, rescheduled, and even turned into glass later because…
They bounce. They recover. They’re flexible.
But some balls are glass.
These are critical, fragile, and irreplaceable.
Dropping them can cause severe, long-term damage. And those are sacred.
The bedtime chats.
The slow mornings.
The laughter around the table.
The quiet moments with your partner.
The ordinary days that don’t look big at the time,
but one day you realize were everything.
Because glass doesn’t bounce.
It breaks. If you drop a glass ball, it will be scuffed, nicked, or even shatter completely while “rubber balls” like work, chores and obligations bounce back, they are always there.
Some of us may even be juggling “plastic balls” such asprojects that stay where we left them, or are incomplete. They can stay incomplete today without causing a disaster. We can pick it up tomorrow, next week, or even let it roll away entirely. or maybe we have been dragging around “lead balls” and are carrying the toxic energy that drains us and should be dropped and left on the floor.
It’s time to identify your balls. Make a list of the all your tasks and commitments. Lable them. Determine which are glass (will shatter) – high priority and which are rubber/plastic (will bounce, can be delegated, etc) – lower priority or plastic (need . And see if you have any plastic balls, that need dropped into another category.
I’m learning that balancing life isn’t about keeping every ball in the air perfectly.
It’s about knowing which ones I can let fall… and which ones I need to protect.
Because in the end, it won’t be the perfectly managed schedule that defines my life.
It’ll be the moments I chose to guard.
So, if you are juggling too many things, I encourage you to
guard the glass.
And let the rubber bounce.
© c. michelle bryant griffin
