What is timeboxing?

When approaching a task that we really don't want to do, and it's something that we really want to put off...the prospect of it can be daunting.

You eventually decide to get on with it, but as time goes by; you start to become distracted and you can't concentrate on the task in hand.

Now from this position people generally make one of two decisions. They either 1). Plough ahead, finishing the job way behind schedule because of their mindset, using up valuable hours of the day. Or 2). Give up and maybe come back to it another time, if at all.

The problem with these two choices, is not the choices themselves. I know that it sounds strange, but it is actually the mindset in which you approach a task. Going into something that you've put off or have been really drilling into yourself, about how horrendous this task is going to be, is wrong and has a knock-on affect to personal productivity.So when you come to making choices (like the two above), you will not be in a right mindset to make a logical choice.

What is Timeboxing?

Timeboxing is a technique in which individuals can exploit a set period of time to; start, continue, or to finish a selected task.

For any task you choose, appoint a short, set period of time (e.g. 30 minutes, ) and try to get as much of that task done in the selected amount of time. Don't worry about how much of it you get done or about completion; just concentrate solely on the job.

Once the time is up, you can stop the task and continue it another time, employing the same rules.

Why should we use it?

Timeboxing is originally for the use of businesses, but because of the effectiveness of the concept, many people apply it to their lives.

The good thing about timeboxing, is that you don't have to be concerned about the time, because you will have selected the amount of time at the start. 

Neither do you have to worry about the amount that you get done. If tackling a complex task; you are likely to need multiple timeboxing sessions; so the amount that you complete doesn't need to worry you.

That's two of the biggest worries, off of your mind and that's before you've even started. As a result of this, you'll have a much more positive mindset, effecting the performance of how you work.

Timeboxing can also be an insightful thing too, giving you a clearer idea of you're daily time management. Having this knowledge will be useful when trying to apply timeboxing sessions to your schedule.

Concerning the tasks that I may exert timeboxing in, my time limit will vary. For instance: If it's a small job, I may only allocate 10-30 minutes, and if it's a big job, then I'll probably set a larger amount of time like 30-90 minutes. 

These are just the guidelines I sometimes use, I say sometimes because I will take other factors into account. For example: how many other things I have to get done in the day, the priority of the job, if I really want to make a sizeable dent in the task or if I feel like spreading it out over a longer duration of time, how much I feel I could get done depending on my concentration levels etc...

Another thing you could do for smaller tasks, is bunching them all together and trying to get them done in one long span of time.

There is a common side-effect to timeboxing that you may experience, and you can judge if it's good thing or bad thing. What I'm talking about is; whenever I do a job using timeboxing, by the time I come to the end of my set spell of time, I quite often feel like I'm on a role and I want to keep going.

I think it's because I know that it's unforced and I'm able to stop at any time.

This may seem good, as you're getting more done. However,if you are a person with a tight schedule, getting on a role isn't something you really want to experience; running behind schedule is easily done. 

It's very easy to tell yourself:"five more minutes, that's all" and then ten minutes later say again: "Just two more minutes, if I just do this and that, then I'll stop".

Although, all you need is a small dose of self-discipline to help prevent this from happening, if it's unwanted that is.

Dreaded deadlines can become more manageable with this system as-well and can become just like any other timeboxed task you'll ever do: beaten!

Conclusion

With the technique of timeboxing, our productivity will be greatly improved. Having these predetermined sessions of time will aid in motivating ourselves to take on bigger and more complex jobs. 

If we always try to complete a task in one long stretch of time, longer jobs wouldn't see completion as frequently and would be put off.

Our concept of time and how much can realistically get done is expanded upon and the implementation carried out to a higher degree.