Timeboxing is a simple time management technique I use often. I first learned about it in software development terms. Lets say you have a fixed deadline for a new product you need to release, such as an annual upgrade to software for calculating income taxes. You must have a new version ready by a certain date. So youll probably use timeboxing for your development cycle, meaning that you do the best job you can within the time available. What new features you can implement are totally determined by the time frame. Slipping the schedule is simply not an option, so if you get behind, you must cut features. In terms of managing your own tasks, timeboxing can be a helpful technique. I primarily use it in two different ways. First, lets say you want to get something done, but theres a risk it could end up taking far more time than its worth because its the kind of task where you might exhibit perfectionist tendencies. So you give yourself a specific amount of time, which you wont go over, and you simpy do the best job you can within that time. As an example I use timeboxing when doing my Christmas shopping each year. I usually allocate a total of 2 hours to the task, which for me involves buying gifts for 8 people (my wife handles the rest). I decide in advance what kind of gift I should get each person on my list, and then I order as much as I can online and then head off to the local mall, where I zoom from one store to the next picking up gifts as I go. I also usually take advantage of my flexible schedule, doing the shopping on a weekday morning when the stores arent busy and I dont have to wait in line. So Im in and out with everyones gifts in under two hours. (I know some people love holiday shopping, and taking multiple trips to browse is fine if its something you enjoy. But if youre shopping-challenged like me, and youre no more likely to get gifts that are any better if you invest an extra 10 hours in the task, then it may be best to simply resign yourself to doing the best job you can within the time you have available.) The second way I use timeboxing is when I have a task or project that I wish to complete, but I dont really know where to begin, or it seems like its going to be a long time before I can finish a meaningful chunk. Or maybe its something I find really tedious and would have a tendency to procrastinate on. Then I use timeboxing to simply commit to working on the task for a given period of time to make a dent in it. I normally use a period in the range of 30-120 minutes. I release any concern about reaching a particular milestone within that time I simply commit to putting in the time, regardless of how far I get. An example where I use this approach would be when Im writing a new article. Finishing a complete article will usually take me 3-8 hours. Sometimes I can complete an article in a single stretch, but most of the time Ill stretch it over multiple sessions. So I use timeboxing to just put a dent in the article and get started, committing myself to writing for 1-2 hours without worrying about how far I get. Then I just repeat the process until the work is complete. A side effect of this last method is that Ill often end up working much longer than I originally intended. If I commit to working on a tedious task for just 30 minutes, its easy to get started because Ive given myself permission to stop after only 30 minutes. But once Ive overcome that inertia and am now focused on the task, 90 minutes may pass before I even feel the desire to stop. Timeboxings ability to circumvent perfectionism and avoid procrastination makes it a useful time management technique. I even used it for this blog entry, and now that my wife has returned home with dinner and a movie rental, its time to say goodbye... |
