I rant and rave consistently about the need to block your time- but BOXing time can be the technique you need to handle certain tasks. Time boxing is about creating time limits, then boxing an activity into those limits.  Wherever you are at the end of the box- you’re done. No exception. You might be complete, or you might have to put another block of time on your calendar.

Use time boxing when:

• You must get something done to meet a deadline. 
• You’re sure you’re spending too long on a particular task- usually while making something “perfect” or when you are enjoying yourself, taking side roads and the most picturesque route! 
• You’re avoiding a task for one reason or another- but you’ve gone through your prioritization routine, you’re committed to doing it, and you’ve decided it’s time.

Great “avoidance” example- Barbara’s editorial calendar for this blog! Posting consistency continues to elude me. Definitely a case of knowing what to do and not doing it. (I’ll have to talk to my coach about this) I do believe the editorial calendar is a fantastic idea, so I’m trying a different approach.  I decided to devote a 60 minute BOX of time this morning to move the ball forward. I’ve got 2 major chunks of work, the first is to organize blog topic ideas, the second is to get them onto a publishing calendar.  After that it’s a matter of weekly discipline- calendaring blocks of time to write.

In my 60 minute do-or-die time box this morning, I chose to organize blog topics. I used index cards and started by simply brain-dumping ideas that I’ve had in mind. Then I went to other blog topic sources; lists I made earlier, emails I’ve saved, articles, etc.  One topic per card- categorized into marketing, time management, profitability, etc. At the end of the time box, I stopped. I have 31 cards. Maybe 75% of them will pan out. Still- that’s a start. Along the way I also created 8 cards for tools and resources. That’s another writing area I just haven’t addressed. I’m psyched!

I can stop worrying about blog topics, because I now have a reserve and I know how to generate them. I’ll use another time box for more topics next week. I’m more confident that I will blog regularly (2x per week is my modest goal) because it’s a simple matter of sitting down, choosing a card, and writing. I don’t yet have my editorial calendar, but I’ll box another hour for that on Thursday. Voila- progress made and stress reduced!

Spend a minute to think about something you’d like to get off your list or off your mind- does it make sense to set time limits and devote a box of time to the task? I think my dad used to call this “plugging away”…

Worth mentioning- I took a lovely long walk with my dog as a reward. The weather is incredibly gorgeous and I deserved it. Celebrate breaking through even the smaller barriers. Think about it; in nature, some of the smallest critters and crawly things are the scariest!

Learn about time boxing and other time management techniques for lawyers. A new time management series starts monthly. Check it out at Courses & Products.