The book launches on Jan 11th

Timeboxing is the ultimate method of preparation

Timeboxing launches in the UK in eight days.

So there’s lots of associated publicity activity — interviews with Women’s Health, The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, FT’s Working It, several US podcasts before the US launch, as well as public and private timeboxing workshop sessions.

Preparation for a raft of work like that is important. And I believe timeboxing is the best possible way that anyone can prepare for such assignments. 

You know when the assignment is due. You know the current date. You have or can surely develop an idea of how much preparation you require. So you will need to find a few slots (aka timeboxes) for your preparation, between now and the due date. If spaced out by a couple of nights’ sleep, so much the better you will feel, so much the readier you will be. The best prep is made in multiple bursts of explicit effort, cushioned and nourished by restful sleep.

Almost every day I have a timebox called, literally ‘Mtgs prep’. It’s usually 30 minutes. During that time, I do what it says on the box, I prepare for the meetings that I have that day. This special timebox means that for every meeting I attend, I’ve done at least a little preparation; I’ll have found out who’s going to be there, what was said in the previous meeting, which actions have been carried out, what’s happened with the client’s company or industry recently, etc. Of course, I’m not claiming I do it perfectly each time, but there is a world of difference between a person who’s done even a moment’s preparation for a meeting and a person who has done none. 

And how better to prepare for a meeting or any assignment than a timely timebox?

[Image from DALL·E 3]