11/3/23
Part 2 of the 3 Part Series will describe how to be more practical with your time to achieve a more productive lifestyle.
In the fast-paced world that we live in, there is one pain that touches all walks of life, from the first person thousands of years ago to the last person born on Earth in the distant future: the constant feeling that time, the most precious and irreplaceable currency of our existence, is slipping through our fingers. From the demands of our careers to the commitments of our personal lives, we find ourselves in a relentless battle against the clock. Time, once gone, is a resource we can never retrieve. Yet, in this race against the clock, a technique exists – a secret, if you will – that will help us treasure every moment if used wisely. It will allow us to make the most of our days. This technique is called "Time Boxing," and it holds the key to not only valuing the time we have but also mastering it, ultimately leading to a more balanced and fulfilling life. In this article, we will delve into time blocking and explore how it can help you regain control of your life, making every minute count in a world where time seems elusive.
To acquire a more balanced life, the timeboxing technique involves a structured approach encapsulated in five essential steps:
1) Identify Appropriate Tasks
2) Establish Your Objectives
3) Allocate a Time frame
4) Execute the Work and Evaluate Your Outcomes
5) Earn Your Incentive
So let us not waste any more time, shall we?....
1) Identify Appropriate Tasks
In this initial step, we want to develop a system that will allow us to identify tasks that align with the principles of timeboxing. While the range of tasks eligible for timeboxing is broad, some specific categories shine as ideal candidates:
Tasks You Lack Motivation for: These often encompass formidable undertakings that appear daunting due to their sheer time and effort. Examples include crafting a novel or completing an extensive 10,000-word research paper due next week. In these instances, procrastination often becomes the first choice because of the work that must be done, so we put it off until the last second, known as Parkinson's Law. To address this challenge, timeboxing can reconfigure these daunting tasks into more manageable segments, each with their own deadlines and milestones. Consequently, the perceived enormity of the task dwindles, replaced by the manageable goal of reaching the next deadline or milestone. We take bite-sized chunks of the larger task instead of dealing with it head-on, which can lead to burnout and more time wasted.
Pro Tip:
On a piece of paper or in a notebook, write out all the tasks that must be completed the next day. We will start off small for now. Now that we have our list of tasks written down, we have made our first steps. We have a visual of what needs to be done instead of simply sorting it in our head, hoping we will remember later. Now we will list the tasks based on priority from most important at the top to least important at the bottom. This will give importance to those particular tasks allowing us to handle the daily task issue in bite-sized chunks.
Tasks You Wish to Complete Swiftly: Another suitable category involves tasks that are undeniably necessary but may not hold a charm of their own. For Example, think of chores like tidying up your living space or organizing your weekly email inbox. Left unattended, these tasks can grow indefinitely or consume an inordinate amount of your time. By employing timeboxing on a daily basis and setting firm deadlines for such tasks, you effectively constrain the time you're willing to devote to them from the outset. If you simply allow yourself ten minutes out of the day to go through your email inbox, a lot can be accomplished every day for 10 minutes instead of setting aside one day and spending hours on end. The first step is to acknowledge the issue and set a time on your schedule to accomplish that goal.
2) Establish Your Objectives
Once you have written down your timeboxing-worthy tasks, the following step centers on defining clear goals for each. The objective is to ascertain precisely what you aim to achieve and within what time frame.
For instance, if you're undertaking the monumental task of crafting a 10,000-word research paper, and you've allotted yourself a 30-day window for its completion, your overarching goal is apparent - you aspire to produce a well-researched paper before the 30-day deadline. To translate this ambition into an actionable plan, you'll further break down your goals. This involves setting daily milestones, such as composing a specific number of words daily. In essence, this daily word count becomes a crucial metric, and reaching it each day becomes your objective.
To stay ahead of this deadline, you might commit to writing about 400 words daily, ensuring you conclude the paper in 25 days (400 words/day x 25 days = 10,000 words). This strategic buffer of five extra days proves invaluable, allowing time for revisions, editing, and accommodating unforeseen errands that might disrupt your schedule. Or You could also conclude the paper in 10 days (1000 words/day x 10 = 10,000 words). There are so many variables in how you would go about writing the research paper. The baseline is that you have to set a daily goal and just need to stick to it throughout the journey allowing you to know when you are expected to complete the task. This ultimately leads to less stress and more control over your time Than just scrambling at the last minute, wondering what you have been doing for the last 30 days.
When confronting tasks you find challenging to muster motivation for; the goal is to engage with the task during the timebox. You do not have to spend the whole day trying to accomplish a single task but work on it in smaller chunks on a larger scale. For example, making it your goal to dedicate 15 minutes to tidying your room can serve as a manageable goal in itself. Such timeboxes can even become recurring, with a daily commitment to spend 15 minutes decluttering. By the week's end, you may discover remarkable progress achieved with minimal effort and how much you have accomplished.
Pro Tip: Preventing Burn out
Thinking back to the example of spending 15 minutes decluttering your room. If we look at the math, (15 minutes x 7 days a week = 105 minutes or 1 hour and 45 minutes) per week decluttering your room. Now let us look at this other option (105 minutes x 1 day a week = 105 minutes). If we take a look, the outcome is the same. We spend the same amount of time and energy on the task, but it is how we break it up. If we break up the task on a larger time scale, it would not seem as daunting, and we would feel motivated to do it again later. It is just that we mostly try to finish everything in one swift stroke leading us to burn out and ultimately not feeling motivated when we have to do it again. We must be able to enjoy the journey and develop a system for it leading us to our third point.
With these two fundamental steps, you embark on your journey into the world of timeboxing, equipped with a clear purpose and an array of tasks ready to be efficiently managed.
3) Allocate a Time frame
With your task selected and goals set, the next critical step is determining the timeframe you'll allocate to this endeavor. This process closely mirrors the second step in the time-boxing method.
Here's what you need to do: Decide when you'll commence the task and when you'll conclude it. If your schedule allows, consider marking this timeframe on your calendar to maintain your commitment to the task.
As previously discussed in the first step, tasks that tend to be more demanding or those that you struggle to motivate yourself to tackle are prime candidates for timeboxing. For these, opt for optimal, concise timeboxes to ensure manageability by allocating multiple weekly days to accomplish the task. A calendar does help when visualizing the tasks.
Let's revisit the example of the 10,000-word research paper. You've already deduced that you need to produce (and revise) 400 words each day. However, you'll also want to establish daily time limits for working on this task.
For this task, set a timebox of 1 hour daily. Note this period in your daily agenda and adhere to it diligently. It's worth considering breaking down these 3 hours into smaller segments with brief intermissions, such as working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. This technique, known as the Pomodoro time management method, enhances the manageability of your timeboxes.
Additionally, you can integrate a Pomodoro timer to monitor your 25-minute work intervals and 5-minute breaks directly from your device. Determining the commencement of your initial timebox is equally vital. Brian Tracy, the innovator of the "Eat that Frog" time management technique, recommends tackling your most challenging tasks at the start of the day. Thus, you might establish an early timebox for your most significant, pressing, or unappealing task, ensuring you initiate it first thing in the morning.
4) Execute the Work and Evaluate Your Outcomes
The subsequent step, while straightforward, is no less critical. Begin working on your first scheduled task without delay, subsequently moving through your list of prearranged timeboxes.
To ensure you remain within the set timeframe, track the time spent on each task. As soon as your designated time expires, promptly cease your efforts. Following this, take a moment to evaluate your results. Did you meet the objectives for today's timeboxes? For instance, if your task entailed writing 400 words for your research paper, did you achieve this goal? In the case of a 15-minute attic-cleaning task, did you genuinely devote the entire allotted time to it, or did you abandon it midway to grab a cup of coffee, never to return?
Pro Tip: Evaluate Your Experience
After completing a task, it's essential to reflect on how it went and identify areas that may require improvement to optimize your performance in future sessions. This introspective process can help you save valuable time and energy. Assess whether the task felt easy or challenging, and explore the reasons behind your experience. Did you encounter unforeseen obstacles, or did you effortlessly navigate through the project? By pinpointing the ease or difficulty of your task, you can better understand your strengths and weaknesses, paving the way for more efficient and effective work in your subsequent sessions.
Each time you work within the preset time frame, you effectively practice successful timeboxing. After each timebox, your responsibility is to assess your performance. If you've successfully met your goals and milestones, completed your task within the deadline, adhered to the budget (for projects), and delivered on your promises, it's time to reward yourself.
5) Earn Your Incentive
While this step is entirely optional, its inclusion can offer you a motivating incentive to celebrate your accomplishments as you reach milestones and complete significant timeboxes.
Consider this: After you've dedicated a total of 1 hour each day to the task of writing and editing 400 words for your 10,000-word research paper, you may reward yourself. This could entail indulging in an extended coffee break with friends or savoring an episode of your preferred TV show on Netflix.
The concept of rewards plays a pivotal role in sustaining your motivation over the long term. The knowledge that a gratifying reward awaits you if you maintain your focus and adhere to the rules during the prescribed timebox can be a powerful source of inspiration.
Conversely, in the event of procrastination or deviation from the task, the potential forfeiture of your well-deserved reward may invoke a sense of accountability, compelling you to redouble your efforts in subsequent timeboxes.
Keywords: Human Productivity, Parkinson's law, Timeboxing, Time blocking, Schedule, Productivity, Education, STEM, Goal-Oriented, Time, Pomodoro Technique, Chunking, Burn Out, Evaluate, Objectives
Are You Going to Start Your Time Box Journey Today?
Yes, I am Motivated
No, I will do it Tomorrow
Source Information
header.all-comments