About this project
Esington Glass: The Ultimate Productivity Timer
$196,560
The Esington Glass is a powerful motivating force in a simple, elegant and beautiful package.
NEW! MINI TRIO unlocked in the last hours!
What People Are Saying About Esington
The response has been overwhelming! Here's what some people are saying:
“Congrats on the success of the Esington Glass! I'm a fan of the beautiful design and it's simplicity. It's a great product that many people need. Great job :)” - Liquid
“Congrats on the amazing success of your project!! Your product is so needed in this hectic, distraction-heavy world (and it's very stylish as a bonus) so we're not at all surprised to see how much people love it (us included)! “ - Svetlana Z.
“First off, I'd like to congratulate you on the HUGE success of your project, it is definitely well deserved.” - Noah D.
“Congratulations on getting this 100%+ funded!! I look forward to getting the large & small Esington glasses. I was attracted to it partially for time management but also I've done glass blowing in the past!! Beautiful work of art!!” - Shawn M.
Millions of steel nanospheres
Each glass is filled with millions of solid steel nanospheres. These make the glasses unique and give them a wonderful visual effect as the spheres bounce chaotically around the glass. This also produces a wonderful white noise.
Hand blown artisan glass
Each Esington Glass is hand blown from a single piece of glass making each vessel unique. They are then quality checked for finish and filled by hand for accurate timing.
Soothing White Noise
Millions of steel nanospheres produce a soothing white noise. Here's what it sounds like on different surfaces:
Color Options
How it Works: The Esington Method
The Esington Method uses the Esington Glass as the timer and boils down to 3 simple steps:
- Turn off all distractions
- Turn over the glass to activate the 3 cues
- Work on a single task until your time runs out
The Esignton glass is designed to help you develop a timeboxing habit as quickly and easily as possible. It does this by giving you three powerful cues to train your initial habit:
This unique combination of cues was designed to lower the activation energy required to form the habit. High activation energy is the prime reason habits don’t stick (and why only 8% of people are successful in achieving their New Year's resolutions).
Hyperfocus
The Esington Method trains your brain to go into “hyperfocus” mode (also known as "flow") when the above cues are given. This gives you the ability to destroy procrastination with the simple action of turning over the glass. It's the famous "Click-Whirr" phenomenon Robert Cialdinii popularized in the book Influence.
The power of the Esington Method
You are setting up an ultra fast work/reward cycle. Once the 25 minutes are up, you are filled with a sense of accomplishment and rewarded with a break. A dopamine rush will ultimately cement the habit in place and change you fundamentally as a person.
Studies show periodic resting increases the quality, quantity and creativity of your work.
You destroy what’s known as Parkinson’s law, which states that people and organizations will fill up and use all of the available time given to a particular task. For example, if you’re told you have a week to write a report, it will likely take you an entire week to get it done. Once you implement timeboxing, since you are given so little time to “sprint”, you may finish that report in one or two sprints.
"Soft Stop"
The Esington timer has a “soft stop”. There are no annoying bells or beeps to signal the end of your cycle. Sometimes, your focus can take you well beyond 25 minutes, and that’s ok (especially if working on lower-energy tasks like answering emails). You don’t want to lose a valuable train of thought. Just be sure to rest proportionally to the energy spent working.
What More People are Saying
“Thanks for sharing this Beautiful story. I will back you!” - Chang N.
“Right now I use YouTube music video to listen to the 25-minute tic-tac soundtrack which ends with hard bell sound. Yes, I believe I would need a soft stop and also a soft gentle sound indicator for the 25 minutes. And it is sometimes quite tired putting on the headphone. I can't wait to receive the Esington Glass!” - Kilo C.
“Congratulations on your success so far! I've just upgraded from the $39 Early Bird to the Community Special x2 and hope you make your stretch goal and then some! “ - Tami B.
“I really enjoyed seeing your story and how the timer helped you, I think it's exactly what I need to get my new year started on the right foot. Thanks again for the project, and very best of luck!” - Nir L.
“First of all compliments on the esington glass. It looks great! “ - Inder V.
“I will continue to share your project on social media and with my friends, Rudy. I think that Esington Glass is not only a beautiful piece of art, but if it can help focus what I do and increase productivity like it's supposed to do, then wow... I can hardly wait for it ! I am definitely sharing this with as many friends as I can :)” - Daniel C.
“Fantastic product ! I'm super early bird DUO founder !” - Julyan
“I have to stop the procrastination in my life. Great product by the way.” - Moises C.
“Now more than ever, I feel the need to solidify my work habits and kick procrastination to its core. Hopefully, the Esington Hourglass will be a worthwhile investment towards that future.” - Keven Q.
“I had just left a coworkers office where we were discussing our stress relief/concentration aids. I currently like to spin tops or twirl pens while I'm thinking, but that's more of an "active" strategy for focus and doesn't help for when my thinking translates to writing. I like the design, the inclusion of metal, rather than sand, and the 25 timer seems perfect. All in all, it was just what I was looking for, just when I was looking for it.” - Todd K.
“Just really like the simplicity of it - and the micro balls rather than sand was interesting to me. Time management is an area I've struggled with my entire life, so anything that might have a chance at helping me focus, even at 25 minutes at a time - is worth a shot! Thanks and congrats on already funding! “ - Josh G.
“I have been a full time software developer for 25 years. I often find it difficult to focus on my work, and get things done within reasonable time. There are so many distractions, like email, kickstarter, and news from the web. I think this glass may help me.” - Dag B.
Rewards
Why You Need the Esington Glass
If you’re not using a timeboxing system, this is the perfect way to start. The Esington Glass is simple, beautiful and and will last many lifetimes. It’s time to get your life started on the right track and become somebody.
If you’re currently using a timeboxing system, you need to upgrade your timer. Esington is beautiful, elegant and unique. What does your current timer say about you?
If you’ve tried a timeboxing system and never got into it, it’s because the habit didn’t stick. Other methods ignore the activation energy required to cement a habit into place. The Esington Glass is designed to lower that threshold to the minimum amount. It’s a physical object with a unique sound, feel and look. The value it brings is similar to a quality gold pen for a writer.
The Design Process
I've gone through many generations of designs, starting with 1/2 scale models, dozens of types of fill material from high refractive index glass to copper plated silica. I settled on solid steel because of the sound and weight were exactly what I was looking for.
I've heat cycled, stress tested and of course quality and sound checked dozens of variants and the results is what I feel to be the perfect productivity timer.
Timeline and Expectations
February: Super early bird orders ship
March: Early bird orders ship
March - April: Regular bird orders ship
We have the prototypes ready and have lined up a primary and secondary manufacturer. The processes for creating the glass are new to the industry, so the large-scale yield has yet to be tested. We believe that our exhaustive experimentation will pay off and that we will meet the above timeline. In the event the yield is lower than expected due to the complicated and artisan-heavy work, shipping might be delayed, but we guarantee the products will ship.
Why Help Us?
At Esington, we believe that within each of us lies the untapped potential of a great person. A person worthy of leaving a long-lasting legacy. Our goal is to give you the tools you need to untap that potential.
We have the prototypes you see here. I’ve been using them flawlessly for months. We are asking for your help to get us to the minimum order quantity from the manufacturer. In exchange for your pledge, we’re offering the first run for a significantly discounted price. Click the back this project button and help us make the Esington glass a reality.
Why I Made the Esington Glass
Until about three years ago, my life was pretty uneventful. I had a decent job, a few close friends and family, and I had my health. My trajectory was “live in obscurity and die a nobody.” Deep down I knew I wanted more, but life was comfortable, so I put off thinking about it too much.
Then I found the love of my life and got married. Less than a year later, my son was born. This woke something up inside of me that had been buried all of these years. I now had a reason much more important than myself to become someone worth looking up to. I needed to earn my place in the world and build a legacy my son would be proud of. The problem was I lacked discipline and was even lazy at times.
I read everything I could on productivity and habits. There were three main points I came across in my research:
First, I had a strong concept of myself as a lazy, unproductive person by nature. I thought it was just my personality - in my genes. I realized I had to destroy that concept if I was going to get anywhere. Everything I read pointed to there being no such thing as a lazy nature. It was a lifetime of incorrect thinking that I had to rewrite.
Second, I had to convince myself that I deserved success. This is a lot harder than it sounds. Getting through step one was key to this, but looking yourself in the mirror and saying “I deserve to be successful” really isn’t easy without a twinge of apprehension.
Finally, the third step was implementing some framework around which I could build habits that would reinforce both of these ideas. Habits that would destroy the concept of laziness being inherent and convince me that I deserved success.
This led me to the concept of a “keystone habit.” A keystone habit is a small change in your life that results in a cascade of positive, transformative changes. It’s like the overweight pizza delivery guy who decides to go for a walk each morning and becomes CEO of a Fortune 500 company who runs marathons. His keystone habit was walking in the park each morning. Anyone who has turned their life around started with a keystone habit.
So how did I find my keystone habit? Well, first I tried dozens of little habits like running or biking every day, pushups in the morning, writing every day, and many other small things. None of them stuck. None of them caused any sort of cascading effect. Either I couldn’t get the habit to stick, or it just wasn’t the right habit to change my core.
Finally, I took the simple idea of attacking my procrastination directly with a concept called timeboxing. With timeboxing, you allow yourself a fixed amount of time to accomplish a task. I used a timer on my computer to give myself 25 minutes in which to work, followed by a few minutes of rest. This felt good and I got a lot of work done in those 25 minutes, because my brain understood that it only had to work for 25 minutes, then it would get a break. Research shows that you can train yourself to get “hyperfocused” and get way more work done if you timebox in this way. Also, your work quality is better and you are more creative if you force yourself to take regular breaks like this.
There was one big problem. Even though I was way more productive when I used this method, I found myself not using it that often. It felt like another case of “lazy brain”. I had spent a year going through dozens of books, making what I thought were great mental strides. I put everything I had into trying to get better, but it seemed like I was back at square one. I felt like maybe I really was just genetically wired to be a loser.
After a few days of sulking, I wondered if the activation energy was too high for me to form the habit. Maybe it was the timer itself! I hypothesized that I needed more physical triggers and fewer barriers (such as finding my timing program, clicking a button and then trying to refocus on the task at hand) to help the habit form.
This led me to search for a physical timer I could put on my desk. There were timers designed specifically for this task, but they were all cheap, plastic, noisy devices. Plus, they were designed for a "hard stop". They all had disruptive noises when it was time to quit. Sometimes I was in the zone and didn't want that terrible intrusion.
I wanted something that I looked forward to holding in my hand. A work of art I could be proud of, and something that subtly hinted that it was time to begin the 25 minute habit cycle. I searched far and wide, but simply could not find anything affordable that fit the bill. So I made my own.
My goal for the Esington glass was to create a timer that made forming the timeboxing habit as easy as possible. I wanted to lower the activation energy to the smallest possible amount. It’s a beautiful handblown piece of art. You want to hold it, you are proud to keep it on your desk. It is stunning. When you turn it over, you are greeted with beautiful white noise as the steel nanospheres bounce off the glass in every direction. This is an amazingly effective signal to your brain that it’s time to get things done. It’s a subtle change over a regular hourglass, but it’s amazingly effective. With the prototype, which I use every day, I formed the habit within a week. It’s specifically designed for the job.
The change to my life has been dramatic. I have always considered myself a laid-back, procrastinating slacker with big dreams. Now I get more done in a day than I used to in a week. This is not an exaggeration. Here are some things I’ve done in the last 90 days with this habit in place:
Learned how to code in PHP and launched 3 separate software companies - I’m not a programmer and have no formal training.
Created two business partnerships in foreign markets and learned basic Russian
Wrote a research heavy health book, the first book I ever wrote
Created and launched my first Kickstarter
Read 27 books
I didn’t change my diet or take any drugs. I’m actually drinking less coffee than I was 90 days ago. How does that compare to the 90 day period before I created this habit? Honestly, I don’t really remember doing much other than going to work and coming home tired. I don’t even remember reading a single book. The change to my life was truly transformative.
Thank you for letting me share my story with you. I feel grateful to have found a tool that has helped me become the person I knew I could become. I sincerely hope the Esington glass changes your life for the better in the same way.
Risks and challenges
We have the prototypes ready and have lined up a primary and secondary manufacturer. The process for creating the glass are new to the industry, so the large-scale yield has yet to be tested. We believe that our exhaustive experimentation will pay off and that we will meet the above timeline. In the event the yield is lower than expected due to the complicated and artisan-heavy work, shipping may be delayed, but we guarantee the products will ship.
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Rewards
Funding period
- (30 days)