How to be a pro at Timeboxing for Greater Productivity-student lesson

Most likely, if you’re looking for strategies to increase your productivity, you’ve heard of the idea of timeboxing. Even if you’ve never heard the term “timebox,” you may be familiar with other timeboxing-related concepts like calendar blocking and the Pomodoro Technique. Regardless, timeboxing is one of the most basic but efficient time management techniques. And in this post, you’ll discover precisely how to put this strategy to use in daily life. Well, the answers to the following questions will be discussed.

What is time boxing?
How can timeboxing boost your productivity?
How can you master timeboxing?

Contents

What is timeboxing?

Let’s start by defining timeboxing. Giving yourself a specific amount of time to complete a task is known as “timeboxing,” and it is a relatively straightforward concept. This differs from the “standard” method of working, which is to focus solely on a task until it is finished. You may either use a timer to set yourself a deadline for your timebox or utilize your calendar and put blocks for certain tasks in your calendar. Combining both is the most effective strategy. This implies that you’ll include work-related blocks and schedule breaks on your calendar. Next, list the tasks you need to complete for each block.

In this article, the various ways timeboxing can boost one’s productivity will be discussed.

How Can Timeboxing Boost your Productivity?

Although timeboxing is a straightforward time management method, it has a great deal of potential to boost your productivity. Even if you’ve never kept track of how much time you require for specific jobs, the impact will be extremely significant. The following are ways with which timeboxing can boost your productivity:

Applying the Parkinson’s Law.
Keeping You Focused.
Making Your Available Time Visible.
The timing is under your control.

Applying the Parkinson’s Law

According to Parkinson’s Law, time increases gradually as you complete a task. This implies that the amount of time you devote to work will determine how long it takes. Have you ever had an extremely short deadline and wondered how you managed to complete the task? On the other hand, have you ever had a whole Saturday without any other plans but to vacuum for the hours that lay ahead of you? You could spend an hour doing it normally. But if you just have the day to do it, you’ll probably need the entire day for it, don’t you think?

With timeboxing, you may now benefit from that. Set a deadline for yourself to complete a task. Even if you miss it initially, it will soon give you a decent indication of how long it will actually take you to complete it. You’ll probably finish it once the timer goes off if you set a timer and work uninterrupted during that period.

Keeping You Focused

The use of a timer during timeboxing is highly advised. Though adding blocks to your schedule is excellent for giving you a clear picture, it won’t necessarily help you accomplish more in less time. However, timing yourself and giving each box a due date will be of great assistance.

Using a timer to timebox has the enormous advantage of keeping you focused. Using brief intervals is the most straightforward method to get started. The Pomodoro Technique’s 25 minutes (more on that in a moment) are a terrific place to start.

Select a little period of time, and then work uninterruptedly during that time. It won’t take you long to finish in twenty-five minutes, so resist the impulse to do something else during this brief period. You can maintain concentration even with brief intervals. And if you focus on what you’re doing for the full 25 minutes without getting sidetracked or interrupted, you’ll be astonished at how much you can accomplish.

Making Your Available Time Visible

The fact that timeboxing makes your daily time allocation obvious is yet another amazing advantage. Calendar blocking is useful in this situation. You will quickly see that you have a certain number of hours each day to work if you add blocks for your breaks, vacation time, and work. This is especially useful if you tend to overfill your to-do list because you have no idea how much time a certain item would take.

The timing is under your control

You have control over your time, which is the ultimate major advantage of timeboxing. You choose how much time you’ll give each activity in advance rather than merely working on it until you finish it. You have great control over how long you wish to spend on a particular assignment. This implies that your career and life are in control of you rather than the other way around. You create it the way you need to so that you never know what to anticipate.

How can you master timeboxing?

Okay, now that you are aware of the advantages of timeboxing, let’s move on to the seven guidelines that will enable you to master timeboxing for better productivity. These guides include:

Calendar blocking is necessary
Add your to-dos to the calendar block
Know the amount of time that is required for a task
Always set timer
Do away with any interruption
Try Pomodoro techniques
Get an accountability buddy

Calendar blocking is necessary

As was already mentioned, timeboxing requires calendar blocking. You can literally “box” your time thanks to this. Additionally, it will make your daily time assignment more obvious. This is how you do it. Use a calendar app that is accessible on several devices, such as Google Calendar. Then provide blocks for breaks and rest periods. As a result, you will have a set amount of time to complete your responsibilities.

Once you have that, add at least one block for jobs requiring high focus. The goal of this block, which should last at least an hour but preferably longer, is to provide you with time to work on tasks that demand intense concentration. Add several blocks for low-focus jobs once you have that. Although these are duties that must be completed, they are not the ones that will help you advance in your position or organization. The most frequent low-focus chores are administrative duties and checking and responding to emails.

Add your to-dos to the calendar block

Your to-dos should now be added to the calendar blocks you have created. You can see exactly what needs to be done that day from this excellent summary. Additionally, it’s a fantastic approach to prepare that material in advance. Therefore, you can already add a job to this block on the day it needs to be completed if you think of one.

The ability to have the calendar blocks reoccurring is even another fantastic advantage. As a result, make the overall blocks recurring before adding the specific to-dos to each block’s space.

Know the amount of time that is required for a task

This next piece of advice is crucial: estimate how much time you will actually need for a job. This will initially only be a guess. Just decide anything, and then time yourself to see how long it actually took. You’ll be able to estimate how long it will actually take you to complete that work after a few attempts.

For instance, it takes me 50 minutes or around two Pomodoros to write an article like this one. It takes me one Pomodoro, or 25 minutes, to prepare it. It will take me one to two Pomodoros to edit it. When estimating how long a task would take, always aim to go a bit lower. Let’s say, for illustration, that analysis in Excel takes you 2.5 hours. Once you are aware of that, set your timer the following time for two hours and 20 minutes. Always slow things down a bit until you reach a point where working any quicker is practically difficult. Your productivity will significantly rise with this addition to timeboxing!

Always set timer

A timer is obviously necessary to keep track of the amount of time you actually need for a task and to have a deadline. No matter what task you are working on, I strongly advise setting a timer. If you don’t set a timer, you’ll probably take longer simply because you won’t be aware of how quickly time flies. Additionally, if there isn’t a clock showing how much time is left in your timebox, it is much simpler to become distracted.

Do away with any interruption

Don’t allow any disruptions or distractions during a timebox, as was previously specified. You need blocks of time where you can work intently to enhance productivity, and you can only do so if you eliminate any other distractions. So, when you’re working, close your email inbox, turn off all of your notifications, and put your phone on silent in a different room. I promise you that this will significantly increase your productivity.

Try Pomodoro techniques

As previously said, don’t let any interruptions or diversions during timeboxes. To increase productivity, you need blocks of time where you can concentrate, and you can only accomplish that if you remove all other sources of distraction. So, put your phone on quietly in a different room while you work, close your email inbox, and turn off all of your notifications. This will dramatically boost your productivity; I swear to you.

It is, therefore, best to begin using this method right away. Between each Pomodoros, get up from your desk, and after around four Pomodoros, give yourself a lengthier break. If you’ve given yourself more time for a task than 25 minutes, you can adjust your timer once you have no trouble working continuously for that length of time.

Get an accountability buddy

Getting an accountability partner is the final timeboxing productivity advice. The Pomodoro Technique, timeboxing, and calendar blocking are all excellent methods for boosting productivity. But having an extra touch helps ensure that you carry out your promises and put your good intentions into action. Join forces with someone who will give you the boot if you don’t respect your time limits.

In summary

Timeboxing is a really easy time management method that will greatly boost your productivity. It works best when you add blocks to your calendar. Then, include your to-do lists into your work blocks to get a clear picture of what has to be accomplished each day.

Choose the amount of time you’ll allot to each assignment. Set a timer once you’re prepared to begin working on a task. Use the Pomodoro Technique and calculate the number of Pomodoros required for that task. Alternately, set the timer for the precise duration you’ve allotted yourself, such as one hour.

That is all for this article, where the following questions are being answered:

What is time boxing?
How can timeboxing boost your productivity?
How can you master timeboxing?

I hope you learn a lot from the reading, if so, kindly share with others. Thanks for reading, see you around!

How to be a pro at Timeboxing for Greater Productivity