Productivity Tip: Timeboxing

Timeboxing can be an extremely helpful tool when it comes to productivity and time management simply because of it’s unique constraints. When you timebox what you’re essentially doing is dedicating a specific amount of time to a task - you can do more if you like but you’re required to do at least that minimum of time. This is an incredibly useful technique when applied to tasks that don’t interest you (and thus tend to always get put off for later) or if you have certain tasks that tend to take up entire portions of the day because of their complexity, or your tendency to be a perfectionist with them.

When you timebox all you have to do is pick a specific task and then set a certain amount of time you’re going to work on it. It doesn’t have to be enough time to accomplish anything huge or to finish the task - just enough time to make a dent in whatever it is that you’re working on. For example you might dedicate thirty minutes to cleaning the garage or you might set aside fifteen minutes to return emails. These are both tasks that could wind up taking over a large portion of your day if you let them and in this way timeboxing can restrain those tasks from causing you to lose productivity because you’re spending time on work that doesn’t accomplish larger goals or produce income.

Timeboxing is also extremely useful for helping you overcome the initial inertia that’s required to start a task. For example you may absolutely hate cleaning out your inbox or doing your taxes but if you can dedicate just thirty minutes to it you can get a substantial amount done that you might have otherwise put off - and when the thirty minutes is up you can quit the task without feeling guilty because you kept your commitment.

When you timebox you place very specific limits on your activities which can help keep them in perspective for your daily goals and activities and it can ensure that you get a chunk of work done that you may not have accomplished otherwise simply because of the time constraints it provides. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a large task it can be helpful to know that you only have to spend thirty minutes on it (or however much time you allotted) and then you’ll be done and the rest of it can wait for another day. Time boxing can also help you keep your productivity levels high because it forces you to concentrate on one specific task at a time instead of succumbing to distractions and changing tasks every few minutes or so which does little good.

Overall timeboxing is a very helpful tool that can do a lot in the way of keeping you focused and helping you make progress in certain areas of your life. It’s another piece to the puzzle of productivity that can have a big influence on your life.