Mastering Timeboxing to Increase Your Productivity

Planning your tasks well may be a difficult task if you have a lot that you are required to do by the end of the day. You may have come across the term “timeboxing” during your search for ways of improving your productivity. If not, concepts such as calendar blocking may have crossed your path; and they are not far from the idea of timeboxing. Mypaperwriter.com teaches you how to apply timeboxing to manage your time effectively, but first, you need to clarify what timeboxing is all about.

Timeboxing

Timeboxing is a technique that allows the allocation of time per task that you are supposed to accomplish. It involves the use of a timer to determine the deadlines for the completion of the tasks. To be effective, you can combine a calendar concept with timeboxing to write your to-dos for every day of the week. When timeboxing, ensure that total hours don’t exceed six hours to be focused and efficient maximumly. 

Ways Timeboxing increases your productivity

1. It makes you able to be in control of your time

With timeboxing, you don’t do a task to get done but first, decide on the time to accomplish a given job. You get to control the time you will take on that particular task. Your work is not in charge of you. You are in charge of your work, and therefore you know what you expect at the end of the day. 

2. Makes use of the Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s Law denotes that the task of hand influences the expansion of a task.  You are therefore going to give a task the time just for the period you had already planned. Having a deadline that you will not meet when it gets to doing a task enables you to gauge how long you can get the work done another time.  So, the next time, you can have your timer that will go off just when you accomplish your tasks. 

3. It helps you to stay focused

You will get more tasks done in less time when you set a timer and give each block box a deadline to be accomplished. With a timer, you can maintain focus and avoid distractions that will hinder you from accomplishing your tasks before the timer goes off. To start, have short time frames for completing a task to develop self-discipline, focus, and concentration. At the end of your tasks, you will be surprised by your success in accomplishing tasks with a short time frame.

4. Make the time available visible

Timeboxing enables you to be sure of how much time you allocate to your tasks at the end of the day. The breaks, time off, and time for work are accounted for. With such knowledge, you can avoid overloading your to-do list as you are aware of the number of hours you need to handle a particular task. 

Mastering Timeboxing to Increase your productivity

To master the timeboxing concept to increase your productivity, you need to master the following;

• Calendar Blocking 

Calendar Blocking is essential in timeboxing to “box” the time you have to accomplish tasks. You can use Google Calendar time off blocks and break blocks. You can add an extra block to promote your focus on tasks that need greater focus. You can add several blocks to cover for low-focus tasks that don’t take much time, like emailing.

• Adding To-Dos to calendar blocks

Adding To-Dos to calendar blocks provides an overview of what to be accomplished. You can view the daily tasks for the day and have store information as a reference point. 

• Determining realistic time needed for each task 

Determining the realistic time needed for each task arises after you repeat them until you know the exact time it needs to be accomplished. With such knowledge, you can focus on minimizing the time taken on increasing productivity and efficiency. 

• Setting a timer always

Setting a timer ensures you are focused and avoid distractions as much as possible when handling tasks. 

• Saying NO to interruptions

Timeboxing aims to create a sense of self-discipline by blocking all avenues of distractions that may influence your productivity.

• Starting with Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro is a technique that involves you working for 25 minutes then having 5 minutes for a break. Twenty-five minutes might seem slight, but you can accomplish a lot within that period compared to an eight-hour shift with no pauses when you are focused on your tasks.

• Getting an accountability friend

The concept of calendar blocking, timeboxing, and the Pomodoro technique requires you to have an accountability friend to ensure your intentions are right when handling tasks and you give your all when it comes to accomplishing tasks. 

Timeboxing is a management technique that is simple and reliable enough to guide you towards achieving increased productivity in your work. Involve the addition of blocks onto the calendar, and remember to add the to-dos to the work blocks to preview what tasks are to be handled by you on a particular day. Allocate time well and use the timer to ensure you are within the time frame. Remember to avoid any distractions as they limit your performance. Otherwise, get your tasks done as fast as possible.