What is Timeboxing?

What is timeboxing?

In agile principles, timeboxing dedicates a specific unit of time to a task, called a timebox. Unlike most productivity practices where individuals start tasks and work at them until complete, timeboxing, used for personal time management and by agile principles-based project management, limits tasks to a fixed but realistic timeline. The timeline’s deadline maximizes focus and efficiency as it becomes the motivating factor for task execution. Because timeboxing is a goal-oriented management plan that imposes time limits, it effectively reduces procrastination. Depending on task complexity, this time management technique creates timelines lasting for minutes, hours, days, or weeks.

Hard timeboxing vs. soft timeboxing

There are two categories in timeboxing: hard and soft.

Hard timeboxing

Hard timeboxing refers to a task you must complete throughout a timebox. Once the time expires, you stop working on the task and wait until the next available timebox before returning to this activity. Hard timeboxing is ideal for perfectionists who need more time to complete their tasks. When using hard timeboxing to promote teamwork and collaboration, have your team define the scope of their tasks and the time they need to meet them and then document their progress.

Soft timeboxing

The second category, soft timeboxing, is beneficial when you can’t accurately guess how much time your tasks will consume. The objective is to complete a task within the intended time frame, then move on to other tasks using another box. But if you fail to finish the task, you can use the upcoming boxes if you haven’t already dedicated them to something more important.

Why to-do lists are counterproductive

It’s human nature to seek easy solutions, especially when you have a full schedule. But staying in a busywork mindset can affect meaningful outcomes. A significant problem with to-do lists is that each task has equal weight, even when the focus and time to complete each one is radically different. For example, “Return Tyler’s phone call” and “Check email” may require varying amounts of effort, time, and prioritization, yet they fall on the same list where most people would choose to tackle the simplest item first. Almost everyone with a to-do list naturally gravitates towards things that take the least time possible, even though focusing on less meaningful tasks makes us less productive.

To make matters worse, most people misconstrue the time it takes to complete a task. Research shows that a mere 17% can accurately pre-determine how long they need to perform a job. No wonder employees often optimistically overload their to-do lists with projects they think they can achieve “in no time”. Since most to-do lists don’t provide sufficient details for each task, all activities typically look the same—two or three words on a line without vital context for informed decision making when determining what you should work on or how long each task will take.

Returning to the “Check email” example and misconstruing time, it’s a common misconception to think that answering an email won’t take long. But when you consider that you may need to verify information, do research, and check in with others before responding, the process may take longer than anticipated. Here are five more reasons why to-do lists are counterproductive when compared to timeboxing:

Endless tasks are overwhelming.
People prefer straightforward tasks that are easy to accomplish.
To-do lists omit the essential details for adequate time control.
People rarely choose important-but-not-urgent tasks, such as setting aside time for learning.
They lack the resources to keep users honest.

The benefits of timeboxing

Deciding what you should spend time on requires a certain amount of intention. The more time you spend choosing, the less time you spend completing your tasks. Unfortunately, the same goes for your employees. Timeboxing can transform your company’s workflow by scheduling and prioritizing individual tasks, improving organization, and managing meetings more effectively. Other timeboxing benefits include:

measuring productivity;
helping fight procrastination;
preventing multitasking (which can affect productivity);
working for both individuals and teams;
better schedule control;
helping employees focus on the most critical tasks with specific time constraints;
removing restrictions to maintain a continuous workflow;
improving productivity;
saving time;
giving your staff a time limit for each task.

Timeboxing is an effective time-management method for perfectionists known for spending too much time on decision making or neglecting to tackle a well-intentioned project. In this fast-paced world, quick decision making can make or break performance success. While some see multitasking as advantageous, it can negatively affect productivity. The human brain requires an average of 23 minutes to focus on a task entirely. Employees jumping between activities tend to lose valuable concentration time and feel overwhelmed.

Timeboxing reduces the decision paralysis phenomenon: a psychological reaction during overwhelming times when individuals can’t pick between A or B, so they choose C or do nothing at all. Converting endless to-do lists into timeboxes reduces this stress by grouping similar tasks, reducing the need for decisions, and lessening workloads and anxiety. Timeboxing also helps estimate deadlines by determining whether there’s sufficient time to accomplish a task. Project leaders use time blocking to measure how much time their team can dedicate to new projects.

Timeboxing vs. time blocking

Although many people use the terms interchangeably, timeboxing and time blocking are two very different time management approaches. Timeboxing allocates pre-determined time frames for completing tasks. In contrast, time blocking refers to blocking out time in the calendar to complete tasks but not necessarily defining restrictions on how much time they should take.

How to make timeboxing work for you

Timeboxing can help you understand where your time goes in a day and how many minutes or hours you waste on unproductive practices. The following steps explain how to put this technique into practice.

Estimate task time

Guesstimate how long a task will take so you can dedicate it to a specific time slot. Include breaks and buffer zones to account for unexpected interruptions. Depending on the complexity of the task, your guesstimate may be in minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months. Consider the following tips when determining task times.

If you can complete an activity in minutes or hours, create timeboxes respecting the time frame. One hour is typically the minimum optimal timeboxing unit.
If your task requires days, weeks, or months, split it into manageable three- to five-hour increments. Feel free to work with one-hour boxes when you can complete a task quickly or if it doesn’t align with upcoming ones. Completing timeboxes boosts your momentum, helping you move forward with other, more complex tasks.

Choose timebox lengths

The following strategies will help your employees define their timeboxes to fill their tasks appropriately.

Determine the total scope of your task. What information do you require to complete the task successfully? How long will it take to get resources from colleagues? Does this task depend on other ones?
Set a hard or soft timebox for the task.
Reserve a time slot for the task in your timebox calendar. If you’re working with the soft timebox method, detail the task’s priority to determine whether you can use another box.
Eliminate any potential distractions. If you can’t stop checking your phone anytime a notification comes through, set it to “Do Not Disturb” mode.
Begin your timebox and work through its completion. A timer can help you stay focused rather than worrying about keeping track of time. Once you finish the timebox, take a quick break like you would with the Pomodoro technique.

Assess and review

Employees must assess and review their progress whenever they finish a timebox to increase productivity and eliminate time wasters and distractions. Here are some thought-provoking questions.

How did your timebox go?
Did you complete your project on time?
If not, what went wrong?
Does this type of work require more time?
Should you schedule your tasks in a different order?
Can you do anything differently to achieve your goal next time?

When used consistently, the timeboxing technique improves employee focus and productivity, increases morale, boosts engagement, promotes reflection, and eliminates the stress of endless to-do lists.

What is Timeboxing?

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