Timeboxing refers to the allocation, or “boxing”, of a specific amount of time to a task, depending on its importance and required effort. It allows you to structure your day based on chunks of time dedicated to a certain number of tasks, helping you organize your schedule and maximize your productivity. To-do lists, the traditional method of managing tasks pales in comparison to timeboxing: the ultimate productivity hack.
Why To-Do Lists Don’t Work
Stop making to-do lists and start timeboxing. To-do lists, a perfect resort for the procrastinator, are highly ineffective and inefficient. There are five fundamental problems with to-do lists.
- To-do lists overwhelm us with too many choices. Students are busy people, and creating lists of dozens of items is intimidating. And as a result, the running lists promote procrastination and task avoidance.
- To-do lists lack a commitment device. They don’t prevent you from choosing the most pleasant and easy tasks over the most important and difficult ones, because they don’t keep you accountable for the time you use inefficiently.
- The clutter of to-do lists causes us to be naturally drawn to simpler tasks. Even when we try to prioritize, we have a tendency to complete tasks that are more easily accomplished. This leads to the putting off of essential task items and ultimately lowered productivity.
- On the flip side, we are rarely drawn to important-but-not-urgent tasks. Activities like studying for the next final is something that is often put off when looking at a long list of to-dos.
- To-do lists lack the context of what time you have available. A simple list does not capture the vital bits of information that you need to make efficient use of your time, such as how long a certain task will take you to complete. This inherent flaw of to-do lists has significant negative implications on one’s productivity.
Why Timeboxing Works
Timeboxing is the perfect alternative to to-do lists. In a study done by Harvard Business Review, it was found that out of 100 productivity hacks, timeboxing was ranked as the most beneficial. The five points below outline why timeboxing is effective, especially for students.
- Timeboxing enables the relative positioning of work. It’s visual, intuitive, and obvious, allowing you to position your study sessions around test dates or your homework sessions around deadlines. It is a great option for students who are constantly swamped with a never-ending list of dates and deadlines.
- It provides a comprehensive record of what you have done. Looking back into your timeboxed calendar will give you a detailed account of what you worked on in the past few days and how much time you allotted to each task.
- You will feel more in control. As you timebox, you decide what to do, when to do it, and how much time you spend on it.
- You will be substantially more productive. Rather than a vague, low commitment to-do list, you are imposing a sensible, finite time for a series of tasks.
- Timeboxing helps you beat procrastination by forcing you to get started. The allotted block in your calendar keeps you accountable for that period of time and pushes you to get started on the tasks you have been avoiding, ultimately equipping you to overcome procrastination.
If you are interested in incorporating timeboxing into your everyday life, edPAL, an organizational platform is a perfect choice. An all-encompassing platform, edPAL features a timeboxing function along with document centralization (e-binder) and scheduling (calendar) features. Visit www.edpal.net to learn more!
