Everyone procrastinates. And you know you're doing it when you're doing it. But that doesn’t mean you can make yourself stop.
There you are, with a project you need to start working on sooner rather than later. It might be a project for work or school. Or maybe it’s a personal project you’ve wanted to tackle for a long time. Whatever it is, you just can't seem to get started. And berating yourself for being a lazy, inactive lump doesn't help.
There's probably a reason you're procrastinating. And figuring out that reason could be the cure for your procrastination.
But your project is due in a week or two. You don't have time to do a lot of soul-searching to find the deep-seated, underlying cause of the problem. You need to stop procrastinating now.
That's where time boxing comes in.
What is Time Boxing?
Time boxing is a popular productivity technique that’s both simple and effective.
Just set a timer and start working on your project. When the timer rings, you’re free to put that project aside and get on with the rest of your day guilt-free.
You're more likely to procrastinate on a task when you don’t know how long you’ll have to do it. But it’s easier to start working on something if you know going in when you can stop. And time boxing gives you that "stop time."
You can set a time box for anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 hour.
Many consider 30 minutes the real sweet spot. But you should pick a time limit that feels right to you. If you can’t stomach the thought of working on your taxes for 30 minutes, set your timer for 10 minutes instead.
If you’re task isn’t finished when the time box is over, don’t force yourself to keep going. That could diminish the effectiveness of using time boxes. Instead, allow yourself to put the project aside for now. You can always do some more work on it later, during another time box.
You can do a time box anywhere as long as you have a timer handy. Many computers and portable phones have timer apps already installed. If yours doesn't, you can find plenty of free timer apps by doing a quick Web search.
Web-based timers like TimeMe are another good option.
Here are some specific ways you can use time boxes to get things done.
3 Ways to Use Time Boxes
1. Use a Time Box to Get Started On a Big Project.
Sometimes a project seems so big and overwhelming that you don't know where to start. So you don’t start at all. Instead, you put the project off for as long as possible.Then, before you know it, the deadline is right around the corner. The panic hits, and you're finally able to get started on that project. You have to put in lots of long hours to get the work done. And you feel frazzled and stressed the whole time.
There’s a better option. Don't ignore the project until the last minute. Instead work on it using time boxes.
Even when a project is big and complex, working on it in short chunks of time can make it feel less overwhelming. And if you spend 15 to 30 minutes on that project every day, you’ll make slow but steady progress on it.
As the deadline approaches, you might have to work for longer stretches to get the project done on time. But because you’ve done some work on it already, it won’t take as long as it would if you were starting from scratch.
2. Use Time Boxes to Tackle Boring Projects
Sometimes a project isn’t all that big or complex. And it isn’t particularly overwhelming.It’s just plain boring.
Cleaning the house. Organizing computer files. These are things you feel you need to do. But these activities aren’t exactly fun or interesting.
They also aren’t critical, so it’s easy to keep putting them off for weeks, or even months, on end.
Most of us can do almost anything, even something painfully boring, if we don’t have to do it for long. You just need to figure out how much of that boring task you can take at one time.
So don’t try to clean the house all in one go. Set a timer for 10 to 30 minutes, and focus on cleaning one room for that block of time. Then do the same thing the next day, and the next. And once that first room is clean, you can move on to the next.
3. Use Time Boxes to Stop Time Thieves
Time thieves are the things you do when you should be doing something else. Some common time thieves include:- Playing video games.
- Watching TV.
- Surfing the Web.
- Getting lost on Twitter.
- Checking your email 4 times in one hour.
You can tell yourself you won’t do any of those things until your “real work” is done. But trying to resist can backfire. Oh, you might do fine at first. But, as often as not, your willpower will break down, and you’ll give in to temptation.
So don’t try to resist time thieves. Instead, put a time limit on them.
When you allow yourself to indulge a little, it’s easier to resist temptation when you're trying to get some real work done. So, instead of resisting, use these activities as rewards for working on one of your projects.
Maybe you aren’t looking forward to writing that essay. But, if you work on it for 30 minutes, you can spend 30 guilt-free minutes on YouTube, or cruising Facebook.
Knowing there’s a reward waiting for you when you finish makes it easier to get started on a project. And, in this case, the reward is doing something fun and not feeling guilty about it.
Time boxing is an easy and effective way to overcome procrastination. And these suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some articles that will tell you more about time boxing, and how you can use it:
Time Boxing is an Effective Getting Things Done Strategy
Timeboxing by Steve Pavlina
15 Time Boxing Strategies to Get Things Done
Do you use time boxing to get things done? If so, leave a comment below and tell us about it.
