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)."
It goes on to say for personal time boxing: "Individuals can use time boxing for personal tasks, as well. This technique utilizes a reduced scale of time (e.g., 30 minutes instead of a week) and deliverables (e.g., chores instead of a component of a business project). Personal time boxing also works to curb perfectionist tendencies by setting a firm time and not over commit to a task. This method can also be used to overcome procrastination (delaying activities or tasks)."how many of us are guilty of procrastination or being a perfectionist? What about at the end of the day feeling like you didn't get enough accomplished or you've forgotten something?I can honestly say since starting time boxing, I feel more organized, more productive, and more on top of my game. Ready to hear how?First, I use my Outlook calendar to block out my time, and then I print it so I have a paper version I can refer to throughout the day. You may be a pen and paper person and prefer to use an appointment book, or maybe you rely heavily on your PDA. Choose which method works best for you.
Another advantage of this technique is closely related to the first one I mentioned and it is called discipline. Why? Because when you have trained yourself to focus on tasks, no matter how little the time you have set aside for each task, it takes discipline to follow it and to actually focus on the tasks.
For larger projects, I may schedule an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to work on creating the new PowerPoint presentation and handouts for Client D. And then an hour and a half to work on phone calls for Client E.I schedule my lunch time, and I also schedule break times. As I go through the day, I check off my task as I complete it. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to see those checks!At the end of the day, I go into my calendar, delete the time boxes I've finished, move to the next day the time boxes for the larger projects that I am continuing to work on, and add new time boxes for tasks that have come in throughout the day.Perhaps you find yourself out of the office a lot and having to return phone calls. Block off a period of time during the day to return those calls, or two periods of time if need be. Perhaps e-mails are eating into your productivity. Again, block off periods of time throughout the day to check e-mails and catch up on tweets if you're on Twitter.
Be strict with yourself. If you blocked off one hour starting at 10:30 to work on the $3 million proposal or research for your next article, start at 10:30, set a timer and stick to it. (You can use a kitchen timer or you can download a free online timer.) You may be on a roll, and you may not want to quit, but stop and go on to the next time box. If you continually find that an hour isn't enough time, then adjust your time to 1-1/2 hours to work on the $3 million proposal. There will be days that unexpected things happen -- interruptions, emergencies, etc. -- don't stress those! Just move your time boxes to the next day...it'll be better tomorrow.By using time boxing, you may also find there are areas in your life that are lacking. Start blocking off time during the day to devote to those areas, whether it be social, spiritual, or physical.Now...take those gloves off, get serious and kick some butt -- uh, I mean time!!
It goes on to say for personal time boxing: "Individuals can use time boxing for personal tasks, as well. This technique utilizes a reduced scale of time (e.g., 30 minutes instead of a week) and deliverables (e.g., chores instead of a component of a business project). Personal time boxing also works to curb perfectionist tendencies by setting a firm time and not over commit to a task. This method can also be used to overcome procrastination (delaying activities or tasks)."how many of us are guilty of procrastination or being a perfectionist? What about at the end of the day feeling like you didn't get enough accomplished or you've forgotten something?I can honestly say since starting time boxing, I feel more organized, more productive, and more on top of my game. Ready to hear how?First, I use my Outlook calendar to block out my time, and then I print it so I have a paper version I can refer to throughout the day. You may be a pen and paper person and prefer to use an appointment book, or maybe you rely heavily on your PDA. Choose which method works best for you.
Another advantage of this technique is closely related to the first one I mentioned and it is called discipline. Why? Because when you have trained yourself to focus on tasks, no matter how little the time you have set aside for each task, it takes discipline to follow it and to actually focus on the tasks.
For larger projects, I may schedule an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to work on creating the new PowerPoint presentation and handouts for Client D. And then an hour and a half to work on phone calls for Client E.I schedule my lunch time, and I also schedule break times. As I go through the day, I check off my task as I complete it. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to see those checks!At the end of the day, I go into my calendar, delete the time boxes I've finished, move to the next day the time boxes for the larger projects that I am continuing to work on, and add new time boxes for tasks that have come in throughout the day.Perhaps you find yourself out of the office a lot and having to return phone calls. Block off a period of time during the day to return those calls, or two periods of time if need be. Perhaps e-mails are eating into your productivity. Again, block off periods of time throughout the day to check e-mails and catch up on tweets if you're on Twitter.
Be strict with yourself. If you blocked off one hour starting at 10:30 to work on the $3 million proposal or research for your next article, start at 10:30, set a timer and stick to it. (You can use a kitchen timer or you can download a free online timer.) You may be on a roll, and you may not want to quit, but stop and go on to the next time box. If you continually find that an hour isn't enough time, then adjust your time to 1-1/2 hours to work on the $3 million proposal. There will be days that unexpected things happen -- interruptions, emergencies, etc. -- don't stress those! Just move your time boxes to the next day...it'll be better tomorrow.By using time boxing, you may also find there are areas in your life that are lacking. Start blocking off time during the day to devote to those areas, whether it be social, spiritual, or physical.Now...take those gloves off, get serious and kick some butt -- uh, I mean time!!
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