Timeboxing is a method where in you allocate a fixed amount of time for a specific activity.This is a technique used in project management as an alternative to “Fixing the Scope” which is the most commonly used method.
Scrum, an alternative to Waterfall
method of Project planning utilizes the Timeboxing. Here,one timebox unit is
called a Sprint which runs for 30 days. A Sprint comprises of Requirements
gathering, Planning, Development
,Testing ,Documentation & Deployment.
I have
found Timeboxing technique to be useful for Time Management. This is especially
useful when you have to do multiple activities not connected with each
other.One such method is the Pomodoro Technique.
Timeboxing is especially useful to deal with procrastination.
Too often tasks get pushed later simply
because we look at the enormity of the scope. On the other hand, if we forget
the scope and set aside one or two timeboxes , it would be good enough to deal
with inertia. The pomodoro technique emerged from a student to deal with
enormity of the study material.
The common complaint against
Timeboxing is that it works against the concept of Unit-tasking which would
lead to the state of “Flow’. This is true if you have simplified your Life so
much that it permits you to work without interruptions of modern day “Instant”
tools.However, for most of us who have complicated Life so much that we are
required to be Omnipresent ,Timeboxing
will be a blessing in disguise.
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