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.
This technique helps one in focusing on tasks. More often than not, when we sit in front of the computer to start doing our tasks, we are bombarded with distractions. We often end up spending more time on unimportant things and not get much done for the day. With this technique, however, you are able to focus more on your tasks by allowing you to set your time boxes according to the amount of time that you think you will be able to concentrate on the tasks. And since it is customizable, you can set your time to as little as 10 minutes per task, and gradually increase your time each day. This way, your concentration and focus are improved even without you forcing yourself to concentrate.
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.
Be strict with yourself. If you blocked off one hour starting at 10:30 to work on the $3 million proposal or research for your next article, start at 10:30, set a timer and stick to it. (You can use a kitchen timer or you can download a free online timer.) You may be on a roll, and you may not want to quit, but stop and go on to the next time box. If you continually find that an hour isn't enough time, then adjust your time to 1-1/2 hours to work on the $3 million proposal. There will be days that unexpected things happen -- interruptions, emergencies, etc. -- don't stress those! Just move your time boxes to the next day...it'll be better tomorrow.By using time boxing, you may also find there are areas in your life that are lacking. Start blocking off time during the day to devote to those areas, whether it be social, spiritual, or physical.Now...take those gloves off, get serious and kick some butt -- uh, I mean time!!
This technique helps one in focusing on tasks. More often than not, when we sit in front of the computer to start doing our tasks, we are bombarded with distractions. We often end up spending more time on unimportant things and not get much done for the day. With this technique, however, you are able to focus more on your tasks by allowing you to set your time boxes according to the amount of time that you think you will be able to concentrate on the tasks. And since it is customizable, you can set your time to as little as 10 minutes per task, and gradually increase your time each day. This way, your concentration and focus are improved even without you forcing yourself to concentrate.
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.
Be strict with yourself. If you blocked off one hour starting at 10:30 to work on the $3 million proposal or research for your next article, start at 10:30, set a timer and stick to it. (You can use a kitchen timer or you can download a free online timer.) You may be on a roll, and you may not want to quit, but stop and go on to the next time box. If you continually find that an hour isn't enough time, then adjust your time to 1-1/2 hours to work on the $3 million proposal. There will be days that unexpected things happen -- interruptions, emergencies, etc. -- don't stress those! Just move your time boxes to the next day...it'll be better tomorrow.By using time boxing, you may also find there are areas in your life that are lacking. Start blocking off time during the day to devote to those areas, whether it be social, spiritual, or physical.Now...take those gloves off, get serious and kick some butt -- uh, I mean time!!
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