Time Management: How to Work More Productively with Timeboxing

Time management methods are currently very popular. No wonder. Who doesn't want to work more concentrated and focused to complete more tasks? In this blog post we are going to talk about the time management methode Timeboxing.

• What is timeboxing?
• Who developed timeboxing?
• Who uses timeboxing successfully?
• What are the advantages of timeboxing?
• What are the disadvantages of timeboxing?
• What examples of timeboxing are there for everyday work?
• Timeboxing in practice

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What is timeboxing?

The timeboxing method is a time management technique that aims to increase productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. It is a flexible and simple time management method that is used by many successful people and companies.

The timeboxing technique originally comes from project planning. Instead of spending as much time as necessary on a task, fixed timeboxes including the final deliverables are set in advance. Once this time has elapsed, work on the task is completed or a new timebox is started. This ensures focus and prevents multitasking. The most important rule here is that the time slots are consistently adhered to and not exceeded! Depending on the scope of the task, a time unit is defined in terms of minutes, hours or days.

The timeboxing method is intended to counteract Parkinson's law. This states that work expands to the extent that time is available.

A brief summary of the concept:

• Technique from project planning
• Fixed time frame
• Pre-defined end result
• Focusing instead of multitasking
• Time units in minutes, hours or days

Who developed timeboxing?

The timeboxing method was developed by James Martin as a fundamental part of Rapid Software Development (RAD) in the 1980s. Martin was a pioneer in information technology and published several books on how to manage software projects. He recognized the need for an efficient time management method to increase productivity in projects.

The idea behind it was not to limit the scope of tasks or projects in advance, but to limit the time available. In other words, the aim was to deliver the previously set work target in as good a quality as possible within a certain timebox - a time frame in minutes, hours or days - or simply to complete the task. The time frame is large enough for this, but limited. Tasks can be completed more quickly, but must not exceed the fixed time frame.

Who uses timeboxing successfully?

Timeboxing is used successfully by numerous companies and individuals around the world. Well-known examples include companies such as Google and Microsoft, which use this technique to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their teams.

Timeboxing is also a widely used technique in project management. Some of you may already be familiar with this approach from agile project management methods. Timeboxing is used in Scrum, for example. Here, events such as the Daily Scrum or a sprint are planned as a fixed timebox. It is also interesting to note that Scrum teams often hold their daily Scrum meeting standing up. This way, everyone keeps it short, it doesn't get too cozy and the set time frame is not exceeded. Other time management methods also work with the principle of timeboxing, such as the Pomodoro technique.

What are the advantages of timeboxing?

Timeboxing has advantages if it is implemented consistently. It creates focus, which is extremely important in times of countless emails, interruptions in open-plan offices and numerous parallel tasks. We can only speculate as to whether Bill Gates and Elon Musk actually use timeboxing for themselves or whether a team of professionals has their backs for focused work.

However, the advantages of timeboxing are clear:

• Increased productivity: setting timeframes increases focus on essential tasks.
• Improved efficiency: Timeboxing prevents too much time being spent on a single task.
• Better time management: The method helps to divide the extensive work into structured sections and thus make optimum use of the available working time.
• Reduction of procrastination: The clear time limits reduce the tendency to put off tasks. Goodbye student syndrome!
• Curbing perfectionism: A clear stop keeps you from wanting to perfect something good even further. Remember: good is good enough ;-)

Timeboxing therefore ensures:

• Focus instead of multitasking
• Increased effectiveness
• Less procrastination
• Motivation

What are the disadvantages of timeboxing?

Timeboxing in itself is not a miracle cure and does not automatically make you more productive. In addition, the approach is not suitable for all types of tasks or meetings. When it comes to creativity or brainstorming, for example, many people need space, movement and time. Time pressure tends to be a hindrance. It is also important to always pay attention to the quality of the results. Whether with or without timeboxing, the goal should always be a high-quality work result.

• Stress: Constantly working under time pressure can be stressful and lead to overload.
• Unrealistic time frames: If timeframes are too tight, this can lead to incomplete or inferior results.
• Limited flexibility: It can be difficult to react spontaneously to unforeseen tasks if the schedule is strictly adhered to.

Timeboxing also doesn't solve the problem of tasks around a task: with timeboxing, you will still need to obtain certain approvals or perform test runs. But if you have taken this factor into account when setting the timebox, you simply extend the time frame. Or you can split the task into individual subtasks. For example, if you need to read through the briefing before a meeting in order to be prepared, set two timeboxes: 1 for reading the briefing and 1 for the meeting itself.

What examples of timeboxing are there for everyday working life?

The daily hustle and bustle can ruin the best intentions. That's why timeboxes in the calendar are very helpful, because if they are marked as busy, they clearly signal that interruptions are not welcome. The time boxes structure the day in a similar way to a timetable and clearly specify what needs to be done and when.

• Email management: Set yourself a daily timebox of 30 minutes in your calendar to check and answer your emails. The three steps Think, Schedule, Do can help here.
• Daily business: Whether it's applications, invoicing or customer service - a timebox for these activities motivates you and helps you to work through them.
• Project work: Define your tasks and schedule timeboxes for them according to the scope of the task. However, project management software can provide more professional support here.
• Meetings: Limit meetings to a fixed duration, for example 15 minutes for a daily status update in an agile project environment, in order to increase productivity.

Timeboxing in practice

When implementing this time management method, it is worth considering the following:

Timeboxing with objectives or timeblocking without objectives?

The answer is clear: with objectives. Because it can also be very simple. For example: I want to file all project-relevant emails for this week as documents in my project management software in 1 hour. Or you set yourself the goal of answering as many bug tickets as possible in 4 hours so that you can make a better estimate for the next “Answer bug tickets” timebox. Be realistic but ambitious here.

However, if you find it difficult to set a target, then simply start with timeblocking - i.e. blocking time in your calendar for one type of activity. For example, answering emails between 8 and 9 am. How many you manage to do is irrelevant. The point here is simply to start structuring your time better. Once this has become second nature to you, you can implement timeboxing for individual tasks with goals.

Of course, you can also mix both concepts. Tasks that are limited in time and clearly defined in terms of content are entered in the calendar as timeboxes. And timeboxes are entered as focus time to devote to a topic or task area that is not yet clearly defined in advance. Like in this calendar:

Timeboxes for:

• Preparation for appointments
• Appointments + meetings/calls
• Webinars
• Off-site appointments incl. arrival and departure

Timeblocks for:

• Focus on specific activities (red)

^{Image: Example of timeboxing and timeblocking in a calendar. ©InLoox GmbH}

Hard or soft timeboxes?

Strictly speaking, there are only hard timeboxes in timeboxing. Because that is the purpose of the method: to clearly limit the time. However, in practice a less strict form of the method can be useful, so hard and soft timeboxes have been established:

Hard timeboxes are fixed in time and cannot be extended because otherwise they would open the door to inefficiency. Examples of hard timeboxes are:

• Status update meetings
• Doing accounts
• Answering emails
• Sprints in software development

Soft timeboxes are more flexible and can be extended if necessary, e.g. to give more creative space to brainstorming or content creation. Examples of soft timeboxes are:

• Creative activities such as writing blog articles
• Complex activities where changes need to be taken into account
• Activities that involve several people and cannot be clearly scheduled in advance due to the coordination required

With soft timeboxes, it is important not to extend them indefinitely. You should set limits for yourself or the team, for example a maximum of 5 minutes overrun in meetings or 1 additional test day in software development.

Set timeboxes in the calendar or with a timer?

In a private context, it is perfectly sufficient to set a stopwatch or a timer, for example to do your taxes or sort out a box. In a professional context, there is actually no way around your calendar. This is because setting timeboxes in your calendar has the following advantages:

• Blocked time cannot be booked by someone else
• Blocked time is visible to everyone else in your team and is respected
• Blocked time in the calendar can also block other tools, such as Teams or Slack, if synchronized

For this to work, set your status for the time frame of the timebox in the calendar to “busy”.

Meeting timeboxes with or without an agenda?

Here it depends on what type of meeting it is. If it is a daily in your team, then there are more likely to be individual points that each team member brings to the daily. If it is a kick-off meeting for a project, then an agenda is mandatory. The agenda has the advantage that it can serve as a guard rail so that the set time frame of the timebox is not exceeded.

With the timeboxing method, you can use your working time more efficiently and increase your productivity. By setting clear time frames for your tasks in your Outlook calendar, you not only improve your time management, but also your effectiveness and efficiency in your day-to-day work.