When I first read the term on Twitter a few weeks ago I thought to myself, "Do I need to get some boxing gloves? What in the world is time boxing?" Of course, I had to read on and liked what I read.Time boxing is a way to schedule tasks, in both your personal and business life, to help you achieve goals and meet deadlines. Wikipedia describes time boxing as "a time management technique common in software development projects to plan out a project, for example the creation of a new IT system, by splitting the project up in a number of separate time periods (normally two to six weeks long)."
The concept is simple: block (or box) time on your calendar to complete projects and tasks. This will help you reach deadlines in a more organized fashion plus it helps you set aside time for other essential tasks. The key is to block time for everything you do including menial everyday tasks to reoccurring projects to family or "me" time. Block your entire day (if at all possible) so you get an honest feel for the time you truly have available. The results may surprise you!Time Boxing eliminates procrastination (for the most part) because it tells you when to begin working on an item on your To Do List. And it will help curb your perfectionist tendencies because when you find that you are locked on a project (a problem I battle with), it will tell you when it's time to stop and move on to something else.
My Approach to Time Boxing Here is what I did. First, I decided to use the Calendar feature of Microsoft Outlook (but you should use whatever method you are comfortable with). I went ahead and scheduled daily recurring tasks such as barn chores, meals, and personal care time. I also scheduled time for reading email, tweeting on Twitter, and posting on Facebook. This may seem unnecessary but it isn't! Once you block (or box) this time off on your calendar, it gives you a visual of how many hours you have available for work (I was shocked the first time I did it!).
The next advantage is often listed as an end result or the product of time boxing: Productivity. Once you learn the basics on how it can help you reset and attain focus and discipline, productivity often follows. But remember to keep you work up to par, too. You need to be both productive AND produce the best quality.
As you gain focus and discipline, another advantage of time boxing is that it gives you the skills to better manage your time. This technique allows you to see how much time you have spent on each task and gives you the chance to predict how much more tasks you can do depending on the time that you have left for the rest of the day. This also allows you to assess your own strategy and progress and gives you the opportunity take action about it. And finally, time boxing gives you a sense of achievement. No matter how small the amount of time you have set for each tasks, you finish each day with more accomplished tasks than when you do not use the technique.
The concept is simple: block (or box) time on your calendar to complete projects and tasks. This will help you reach deadlines in a more organized fashion plus it helps you set aside time for other essential tasks. The key is to block time for everything you do including menial everyday tasks to reoccurring projects to family or "me" time. Block your entire day (if at all possible) so you get an honest feel for the time you truly have available. The results may surprise you!Time Boxing eliminates procrastination (for the most part) because it tells you when to begin working on an item on your To Do List. And it will help curb your perfectionist tendencies because when you find that you are locked on a project (a problem I battle with), it will tell you when it's time to stop and move on to something else.
My Approach to Time Boxing Here is what I did. First, I decided to use the Calendar feature of Microsoft Outlook (but you should use whatever method you are comfortable with). I went ahead and scheduled daily recurring tasks such as barn chores, meals, and personal care time. I also scheduled time for reading email, tweeting on Twitter, and posting on Facebook. This may seem unnecessary but it isn't! Once you block (or box) this time off on your calendar, it gives you a visual of how many hours you have available for work (I was shocked the first time I did it!).
The next advantage is often listed as an end result or the product of time boxing: Productivity. Once you learn the basics on how it can help you reset and attain focus and discipline, productivity often follows. But remember to keep you work up to par, too. You need to be both productive AND produce the best quality.
As you gain focus and discipline, another advantage of time boxing is that it gives you the skills to better manage your time. This technique allows you to see how much time you have spent on each task and gives you the chance to predict how much more tasks you can do depending on the time that you have left for the rest of the day. This also allows you to assess your own strategy and progress and gives you the opportunity take action about it. And finally, time boxing gives you a sense of achievement. No matter how small the amount of time you have set for each tasks, you finish each day with more accomplished tasks than when you do not use the technique.
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