Enjoyment Jar
Turn a low mood into spontaneous action with preselected joyful activities
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 99%
The Enjoyment Jar is a visible, low-friction prompt for converting a low mood into action. Write activities you genuinely enjoy on separate slips of paper, place them in a jar, and keep it somewhere you regularly see. When you have time and need a pick-me-up, draw one slip at random and do what it says. The list can start small and grow whenever another idea appears, so setup never becomes a project. Random selection matters because it bypasses overthinking and introduces spontaneity for people whose calendars are usually tightly planned. The mechanism combines environment design, precommitment, and personally meaningful action. Its output is a quick, authentic source of enjoyment chosen before the difficult moment rather than during it.
Origin
Butler adapted the familiar gratitude jar into an action-oriented enjoyment practice designed to boost mood through activities a person genuinely loves.
Core principles
- 01Action can lift mood
- 02Preselection reduces effort when energy is low
- 03Visible cues make the practice easier to use
- 04Spontaneity can restore joy
- 05Enjoyment should reflect your own preferences
How to run it
- 1
Select the container
Use any jar you like and place it somewhere visible in your normal environment.
Pro tip A Mason jar works; the container does not need to be special.
Watch out A hidden jar will not provide an environmental cue.
- 2
List genuine pleasures
Write activities that you truly enjoy, one per slip. Start with only a few rather than delaying until the list feels complete.
Pro tip Add new activities over time as they occur to you.
Watch out Do not fill the jar with activities other people think you should enjoy.
- 3
Draw during a low moment
When you need a pick-me-up and have some available time, randomly choose one slip.
Pro tip Let the random choice add spontaneity.
- 4
Act without overthinking
Do the selected activity instead of reopening the decision. Notice whether action changes your mood.
Watch out If the activity is impossible in the moment, draw again rather than abandoning the practice.
In the wild
After several difficult meetings, a manager reaches for her visible jar instead of scrolling. She draws 'walk to the park with music' and does it before deciding how to spend the evening.
→ A preselected enjoyable action interrupts the low mood with less decision effort.
Common mistakes
Overbuilding the jar
Waiting for dozens of perfect ideas turns a simple tool into another task.
Ignoring visibility
Storing the jar out of sight removes the cue that makes the tool useful during a low moment.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who know enjoyable activities help them but forget or overthink what to do on difficult days.
Not ideal for
Severe or persistent low mood requiring professional support rather than a lightweight self-care prompt.
From the transcript
“You can use a Mason jar or a fancy jar, whatever you want. Put it out somewhere in your environment where you're going to see…”
“when you need that pick-me-up, when you're just like having one of those days and you've got some time, go in there, just randomly pick…”
From the episode
Kristen Butler: Could Your Comfort Zone Be Your Biggest Advantage?
Kristen Butler