What is Time Boxing? Time Blocking? and Time Theming?

Time management is a crucial skill in today’s world. There are several techniques people often use to enhance productivity and manage time effectively. Each method aims to improve efficiency, but they differ in their approach and application. Let’s get clear on what each one is:

Time Boxing: The Art of Setting Limits
In work terms, time boxing is using your calendar to make your to-do list. It’s setting a fixed period for each task and sticking to it, like saying, “I’ll work on this project for exactly 90 minutes, starting at 10am.” It’s like giving yourself a deadline, but a friendly one, not the looming, stress-inducing kind.

A lot of people do this as part of their weekly planning routine. We do it every week in our planning workshop. First, make a to-do list for the day or week. Then slot in each task at a specific time. For more details, read our blog post dedicated to time boxing.

Time Blocking: The Art of Creating Zones
Picture your calendar as a canvas. With time blocking, you paint broad strokes of colors, creating blocks of time dedicated to specific tasks or types of work. You might have a block for emails, a block for meetings, and a block for deep work. It’s like organizing your day into themed segments, turning your calendar into a visually appealing schedule that guides you through the day.

These two strategies are not mutually exclusive. If you’re needing more structure to get things done, try Time Boxing. And if your work often involves unplanned emergencies, then build in time blocks each day (especially before wrapping up) that are flexible spaces for the tasks that come up.

The skill in time boxing is the balance of scoping and Parkinson’s Law. Knowing how long something is going to take and making sure you’re not stretching the task to fill the time. Something that might only need 15 minutes may take up the whole 30 or 60 if you budgeted for the task. A good way to get ahead of that problem is to take 1 minute at the end of the time box to reflect on if you budgeted your time correctly.

Day Theming: Monotasking to The Max
This is a different approach to time management. Bby assigning specific themes or categories to each day of the week, you keep your brain in one “focus mode” at a time. For example, you might designate Mondays for meetings and planning, Tuesdays and Thursdays for creative work and content generation, Wednesdays for admin and sales, and so on. Each day has a specific focus, allowing you to dive deep into related tasks without the distraction of switching between different types of work.

By theming your days, you create a structure that helps you prioritize tasks and allocate your time more effectively. It also allows for better mental clarity, as you can dedicate your full attention to a single type of work, rather than trying to juggle multiple priorities at once.

Whichever approach you choose, the key is to experiment and find what works best for you. With a bit of trial and error, you can develop a productivity system that helps you work smarter, not harder, and achieve your goals with greater ease and efficiency.

Stay focused out there.

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.