Every employer wants a productive team. With timeboxing, you can ensure your employees complete more tasks throughout their working hours.

Let’s discover more about time boxing, its benefits and drawbacks, and how it differs from time blocking. We’ll also cover when and how to use this strategy and a few examples at work.

 

What Is Timeboxing?

Timeboxing is a versatile and effective time-management technique. You create a to-do list in your calendar. However, instead of just listing all the things to accomplish for the day and when to do them, you include goals and allocate a fixed amount of time for each task.

Differences Between Time Blocking and Timeboxing

Timeboxing and time blocking involve setting a fixed time frame for activities, so many think they are the same. However, time blocking focuses on allocating specific blocks of time for tasks. With timeboxing, you can also assign deadlines and specific time limits.

When to Use Timeboxing

Not everyone is good at time management. Some individuals who are perfectionists by nature may spend more hours on a task than necessary trying to get everything right. Procrastinators spend time on wrong activities and wait until the last minute to get things done. These habits can hurt employees’ productivity and your business.

You can use timeboxing to encourage disciplined work habits and improve your team’s efficiency and productivity. In an open office with distracting colleagues, this method can help employees stay focused on their tasks. It creates a sense of urgency and prevents employees from spending too much time on one task.

 

 

 

How to Timebox: The Most Important Steps 

Ready to timebox? Here are the most vital steps you need to take:

Define your goals and priorities.

The first important step is to identify what tasks you want to do in a day. It’s best to prioritize urgent and important tasks. If you are working on a large-scale project, break them into smaller, more manageable tasks for better control.

Estimate task duration.

In timeboxing, you have to move on to other tasks when the time is up, whether or not you’ve accomplished the goal. Failure to finish goals can lead to frustrations and overwhelming feelings. To increase the likelihood of completing tasks on time, consider task complexity, your capabilities, and potential roadblocks when estimating the task duration.

Find the right balance between time intervals.

An average adult employee can only focus on a task for around 20 minutes. So, allocating long hours with no break to a particular task may not get you the result you wanted from timeboxing. So, don’t forget to set specific time intervals. It can be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour.

Stick with your schedule and assess your results. 

As mentioned, you need to keep moving until the allocated time is up. Don’t shorten or extend the time slots you set unless necessary. Once done, evaluate your results and make any necessary changes the next time.

Benefits of Timeboxing

Timeboxing offers many benefits, such as:

• Improved focus. It can be hard to focus with digital distractions around us. But when you know the time left to finish a task, it encourages you to concentrate and stay motivated.
• Prevents procrastination. Assigning a specific time to commit to each task can prevent you from delaying tasks as much as possible.
• Get more things done. Timeboxing can prevent you from spending too much time on a single task.
• Improved collaboration. Your colleagues will know what you’re up to, and you can plan your work to accommodate your team member’s schedules.

Drawbacks of Timeboxing 

Timeboxing also has its downsides, including:

• It can be difficult to set time frames for complex and demanding tasks.
• Employees who constantly bounce between tasks may find it hard to use the strategy.

 

How to Use Timeboxing in Your Daily Life

Time flies way too fast. Timeboxing may help you make the most of each minute of your life. Create a to-do list and allocate a set amount of time to each one.

You can use it to handle chores more efficiently. For example, if you’ve been tidying up your drawer for hours on weekends, you can allocate 10 minutes to it every day instead. It’s easier to focus for 10 minutes on this boring task. Generally, you can use the technique on whatever task you need to finish in a day.

You may also be able to use timeboxing to work multiple jobs.

How to Use Timeboxing at Work

If you want your team to use timeboxing, make sure to discuss with them everything, including the task, time frame, and result. It’s also best to have software that allows you to see what everyone is working on and when that task is due.

 

Examples of Timeboxing at Work

There can be many uses of timeboxing at work. If you often hold meetings, you can use timeboxing to make it more effective. You create an agenda and share it with your team so they can come prepared to the meeting and set a time frame to prevent unnecessary discussions.

Let Kilpatrick Executive Help Improve Your Team’s Productivity

Boosting your team’s productivity begins with high-level guidance. At Kilpatrick Executive, we have highly qualified professional coaches in human capital assessment and development. We are ready to share our knowledge to guide your managers and handle their positions better.

If you want to improve your timeboxing strategies and increase your team’s productivity, Kilpatrick Executive offers human capital services to help you out.