Since the creation of time boxing, working on tasks as a freelancer has become a lot easier. It's true that the technique does help make the tasks easier and make one a lot more productive and better at managing time. Some would even swear by it as the technique that improved the quality of their work and even their life in general. Here's a quick look at some of the most noteworthy advantages of this technique.
The concept is simple: block (or box) time on your calendar to complete projects and tasks. This will help you reach deadlines in a more organized fashion plus it helps you set aside time for other essential tasks. The key is to block time for everything you do including menial everyday tasks to reoccurring projects to family or "me" time. Block your entire day (if at all possible) so you get an honest feel for the time you truly have available. The results may surprise you!Time Boxing eliminates procrastination (for the most part) because it tells you when to begin working on an item on your To Do List. And it will help curb your perfectionist tendencies because when you find that you are locked on a project (a problem I battle with), it will tell you when it's time to stop and move on to something else.
My Approach to Time Boxing Here is what I did. First, I decided to use the Calendar feature of Microsoft Outlook (but you should use whatever method you are comfortable with). I went ahead and scheduled daily recurring tasks such as barn chores, meals, and personal care time. I also scheduled time for reading email, tweeting on Twitter, and posting on Facebook. This may seem unnecessary but it isn't! Once you block (or box) this time off on your calendar, it gives you a visual of how many hours you have available for work (I was shocked the first time I did it!).
For larger projects, I may schedule an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to work on creating the new PowerPoint presentation and handouts for Client D. And then an hour and a half to work on phone calls for Client E.I schedule my lunch time, and I also schedule break times. As I go through the day, I check off my task as I complete it. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to see those checks!At the end of the day, I go into my calendar, delete the time boxes I've finished, move to the next day the time boxes for the larger projects that I am continuing to work on, and add new time boxes for tasks that have come in throughout the day.Perhaps you find yourself out of the office a lot and having to return phone calls. Block off a period of time during the day to return those calls, or two periods of time if need be. Perhaps e-mails are eating into your productivity. Again, block off periods of time throughout the day to check e-mails and catch up on tweets if you're on Twitter.
However, my absolute favorite feature in Outlook is the Alarm! Oh what a lifesaver that is. I schedule every event with the alarm so that it will sound and tell me "Wrap up what you are doing and move on to the next task." Sometimes I get very involved in a task and hours will go by before I look at the clock again, so this is an excellent way to stop me in my tracks and keep me productive (or let me eat lunch!).I am happy to report that utilizing Time Boxing has really helped to improve my daily productivity especially since joining time-vampires such as Twitter and Facebook (which are necessary evils). Time Boxing keeps me focused and helps me accomplish more in an efficient manner. I love it and recommend it to everyone!
The concept is simple: block (or box) time on your calendar to complete projects and tasks. This will help you reach deadlines in a more organized fashion plus it helps you set aside time for other essential tasks. The key is to block time for everything you do including menial everyday tasks to reoccurring projects to family or "me" time. Block your entire day (if at all possible) so you get an honest feel for the time you truly have available. The results may surprise you!Time Boxing eliminates procrastination (for the most part) because it tells you when to begin working on an item on your To Do List. And it will help curb your perfectionist tendencies because when you find that you are locked on a project (a problem I battle with), it will tell you when it's time to stop and move on to something else.
My Approach to Time Boxing Here is what I did. First, I decided to use the Calendar feature of Microsoft Outlook (but you should use whatever method you are comfortable with). I went ahead and scheduled daily recurring tasks such as barn chores, meals, and personal care time. I also scheduled time for reading email, tweeting on Twitter, and posting on Facebook. This may seem unnecessary but it isn't! Once you block (or box) this time off on your calendar, it gives you a visual of how many hours you have available for work (I was shocked the first time I did it!).
For larger projects, I may schedule an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to work on creating the new PowerPoint presentation and handouts for Client D. And then an hour and a half to work on phone calls for Client E.I schedule my lunch time, and I also schedule break times. As I go through the day, I check off my task as I complete it. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to see those checks!At the end of the day, I go into my calendar, delete the time boxes I've finished, move to the next day the time boxes for the larger projects that I am continuing to work on, and add new time boxes for tasks that have come in throughout the day.Perhaps you find yourself out of the office a lot and having to return phone calls. Block off a period of time during the day to return those calls, or two periods of time if need be. Perhaps e-mails are eating into your productivity. Again, block off periods of time throughout the day to check e-mails and catch up on tweets if you're on Twitter.
However, my absolute favorite feature in Outlook is the Alarm! Oh what a lifesaver that is. I schedule every event with the alarm so that it will sound and tell me "Wrap up what you are doing and move on to the next task." Sometimes I get very involved in a task and hours will go by before I look at the clock again, so this is an excellent way to stop me in my tracks and keep me productive (or let me eat lunch!).I am happy to report that utilizing Time Boxing has really helped to improve my daily productivity especially since joining time-vampires such as Twitter and Facebook (which are necessary evils). Time Boxing keeps me focused and helps me accomplish more in an efficient manner. I love it and recommend it to everyone!
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