What helps you when it gets to be a lot?
Most people have more tools against stress than come to mind in the moment they need them. This exercise gathers them in one place: your own jar, filled with what actually works for you. Free, no sign-up, about five minutes.
Step 4
Take your jar with you
Once something is in the jar, you can take it with you here.
How the exercise works
Four steps. The first one matters most: you start with what you can already do.
1 · Your own tools
Start by adding what already helps you today. The exercise deliberately begins with your resources, not with what is missing.
2 · Add more
Then come the suggested tools, sorted into four domains. One tap puts a tool in the jar, another takes it out.
3 · Read up
Each tool comes with what it means and why it works. Short enough to read in passing.
4 · Commit
Finally you pick exactly one for the next 24 hours. Without that step the jar stays a collection.
Why four colours
The tools fall into four areas: body, mind, people and values. The colour coding is functional, not decorative — it makes visible when an area is missing from your jar. If you only ever answer strain physically, you have no answer to loneliness. If you only think, you never get out of the rumination. A jar without a single social entry is therefore not a mistake, but a signal.
Who is behind the exercise
The Recovery Toolbox is the digital version of an exercise from psychological practice. It was developed by Aline Schmittmann and Sophie Ebert of Horizon for a joint webinar with YEARS. The tools are drawn from methods used in stress research, sleep medicine and behavioural therapy.
More about HorizonIf you want to know what the stress is doing to you
A jar full of tools helps day to day. Strain only becomes measurable when you look: heart rate variability, sleep quality, inflammation and stress markers in your blood. That is what YEARS Evolve does.
Free intro callFrequently asked questions
What is the jam jar exercise?→
The jam jar exercise is a method from psychological counselling: you collect your own coping and recovery strategies visually in a jar so they are available in the moment strain hits. The image works because stress is exactly what blocks access to that knowledge — a filled jar is a memory aid you can look at instead of having to recall.
Is what I enter stored anywhere?→
Your selection stays in your browser at first, held in your device’s local storage. It is not transmitted to us. Only when you actively choose “Send it to me” and enter your address do your tools and your plan leave the device. The image of the jar is also generated locally.
Why can I only pick one tool for the next 24 hours?→
Because intentions fail as their number grows. A single concrete step gets followed through far more often than a list of good intentions. The jar may be full — the next step should not be.
What if one domain stays empty for me?→
Nothing bad, but it is worth a second look. Is the area empty because nothing there suits you, or because it is hard for you right now? With “People” it is often the latter, and precisely then one small entry there is worth more than three more under body.
Can I use the exercise with a team or in a workshop?→
Yes. The exercise was built for a webinar and works well in groups: everyone fills their own jar, then you talk about the distribution of colours rather than the entries themselves. That is a lower bar, because nobody has to disclose anything personal.
What this exercise is not
The Recovery Toolbox does not replace diagnosis, psychotherapy or medical treatment. It is a tool for self-reflection. If the strain stays with you, if your sleep suffers persistently, or if you notice signs of depression in yourself, please speak to a doctor or a psychotherapy practice. In an acute crisis in Germany, Telefonseelsorge is reachable around the clock on 0800 111 0 111.