Should You Use To-Do Lists or Timeboxing?

Hint: It's not the tool, it's the person using it.

Sometimes it's "both/and" rather than "either/or".

A couple days ago, Eric Partaker introduced a concept in a LinkedIn post called Timeboxing that really resonated with me. Here's a summary of what he introduced:

"In a recent Harvard Business Review article, they discussed how effective an idea called Timeboxing migrates your to-do list to your calendar. You’re essentially creating an appointment with yourself to work on the task.

So, if you need to update your budget, you create a calendar appointment to do it. If you need to review test results, you create a calendar appointment.

One of the benefits of Timeboxing is that it forces you to realize there are only so many hours in the day and you don’t have much space to get things done.

It forces you to consider the duration of the task as you enter it on your calendar. By doing that, you can see when you run out of hours in the day and there’s nothing to be frustrated about regarding tasks that you couldn’t get to, because there’s not much more you can do."

Great stuff.

I've always asked that my teams calendarize their task lists. The Timebox concept starts with a time and duration assumption, which I really like. I'd go a step further and say that it's not about the tool, at all.?

When you are first starting out in your professional life, try out all the tools. You’ll find the aspects of each tool that you find useful. You'll get educated.

There will come a time when you realize it's the person USING the tools and their mastery of how to synthesize their use based on the needs of the situation, you transform from educated to effective.

I would assert that it’s not Timeboxing OR a to-do list. It’s Timeboxing AND a to-do list. Both/and, not either/or. At least that’s the way it works for me.

Everything isn’t going to fit on my calendar, but I don’t want to lose any of it. Whether it’s an A, B, C, D, or E priority, I want the idea captured. I might never get to all of them, and they might not have all been necessary, but I want to catch all my thoughts.?

Then it’s up to ME (the effective leader) to apply knowledge in the light of experience to prioritize and calendarize those priorities. It also suggests the necessity to delegate or get extra resources. It’s how effective leaders drive the business rather than let the business drive them.

Situational awareness, clarity of the goal, and the wisdom to create a credible plan to get to the goal are “the things”. The tools are just the tools.

I'm grateful for Eric introducing me to Timeboxing. It really took me down a rabbit hole to consider my thoughts on managing tasks.