A talk vs a book
The merits of a 60-minute live timeboxing session
TLDR: How a 60-minute timeboxing workshop is different from the book.
Word count: 481
Read time: 2 min
Last year, I was invited to run live timeboxing sessions for several companies: big tech, small tech, law, banking, professional services, pharma, and others. I deliver a presentation which lasts ~40 minutes and then there’s time for Q&A, to all fit neatly within a 60-minute timebox. Many of the attendees of those sessions are now subscribers to this newsletter. Hello!
Over the holidays I was thinking about how my live sessions are similar to as well as different from the experience of the book.
The similarities are pretty obvious. The subject matter is this system for intention which happens to live in a calendar. I structure the talks in the same way I structured the book: Believe, Plan, Do, Own.
The differences are more interesting and instructive.
I am more fully myself in a live session than I can be as the writer of a book (or orator of its audio version). The mistakes I make, the recent anecdotes I might draw on, an interaction with the audience, tone, appearance, timing, etc.
It’s quicker, of course. The sessions are an hour. The 50k words in the book will take the average reader just under 4 hours:
There’s no preamble in the talk, we start with an interactive exercise straight away. We each do it on our own, it succinctly underscores the point of timeboxing, and it gives each attendee something real that will last long after the session. As the facilitator, I can pretty much insist that everyone try this out. That’s not possible in book format.
The social element of a live talk adds a lot. People experience the live interest of others in the session. They can see each other and interact. They can share their own good or bad practice with timeboxing, time management, calendars, etc. The Q&A segment enables everyone to type out or say out loud anything they’d like to.
Finally, in a session with a company, there’s a context and commonality. What’s the culture there - is there a high degree of trust to see the details of someone else’s calendar? Do people use Outlook? What are the team sizes? How densely populated with meetings are calendars at the organisation? Are some people expert organisers who can help inspire and inform when I’m gone? Some of this I can get in advance and tailor the session, therefore, to that particular audience. Simple, crude example: I’ll show Outlook calendar screenshots if Outlook is the calendar of choice at the firm. Subtler example: if the workforce is beset with meetings with very little time outside for autonomy and deep work, I’ll emphasise meeting practice and etiquette which has been effective in other high-pressured work environments.
I’ll be doing more of these talks in 2025. If you're interested in this for a small team (a handful) or a big team (hundreds), do be in touch. Please know that I do charge for these sessions.
Marc
Links you may like
7 days of Timeboxing (the free email micro-course)
Timeboxing, the book (US)
Timeboxing, the book (UK)
Timeboxing, el libro (Español)
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