This can help you, literally forever
Six priceless, recurring timeboxes
TLDR: Plan, prep, exercise, compartmentalise, more prep & admin
Word count: 599 words
Read time: 3 mins
You asked for this. Here’s slightly more than a handful of recurring timeboxes which appear in my own calendar, in perpetuity.
1. ‘⏳timebox today’
Every morning, I get out of bed, get dressed, brush teeth, and timebox the day. I do it out of habit now of course but there’s also a recurring appointment in my calendar at 6am, just in case. If I start earlier or later I just move the timebox up or down accordingly.
It’s always set for 15 minutes. I rarely take less or need more time to plan my day. These are almost always the most important 15 minutes of my day.
(Hourglass emoji optional, but highly recommended.)
2. ‘mtgs prep!’
This is the second most important timebox for most people and situations.
(But I still can’t find or think of an emoji that represents this adequately. If you can, I’d love to hear it!)
3. Exercise
We all know that exercise is good for body, soul and mind. A lucky minority — like my jiu-jitsu obsessed wife — actually enjoy exercising. The rest of us need all the help we can get. Timeboxing is just such help.
(To be completely honest though, I don’t have exercise in the calendar as a recurring appointment. This is because I choose the actual exercise [yoga, running, weights, etc] according to my mood and surroundings. So I name it only on the day, when I’m deciding on it.)
4. ‘🚸Kids ready’
Being pulled simultaneously in different directions is painful. A common example of this is when one of those directions is the kids (mine are 8 and 10 years old, so this still happens, lots) and the other direction is work. This is especially fraught in the mornings when everyone is acutely feeling their priorities contemporaneously.
I manage my mornings to avoid this difficulty pretty well (and much better than I would otherwise) by specifying the time I work and the time I spend with the kids. AKA compartmentalising. AKA timeboxing. Because of this practice, I’m certain that I’m a better dad and a less stressed worker.
5. Prep for already-recurring meetings
Subtly different from [2] — this is about preparing for meetings that recur (rather than the meetings you happen to have that day).
Most of us have several meetings in our calendar which recur every week, month, etc. 1-1s with boss/colleague, board meetings, team meetings, mentor meetings, project meetings, and so on are very common.
I just counted mine up (easy to do if you look at your schedule for a week several months ahead) and was surprised to see I have 14 or so each week.
With just a little preparation, these meetings will run more smoothly and your performance in them will be at a higher level. And what better way to ensure that you prepare for a recurring meeting than a recurring timebox, a few hours or a day before? 15 mins’ preparation is usually ample.
You’ll also look forward to your meetings more if you adopt this practice.
6. Infrequent admin
There are some tasks, chores and responsibilities that we know we should do but somehow never get around to. We all need to (occasionally): deep clean the fridge, check expiry dates in the pantry, clean the windows, answer unanswered text messages, etc.
So set a recurring timebox for every six (say) weeks to make sure they get done.
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I enjoyed writing this. I’m glad you asked for more timeboxing tips, because I have loads up my sleeve, some of which are in the book, many of which aren’t.
