Timeboxing and Time blocking with Google Calendar : Complete Guide
Do you have trouble keeping track of your time? You can increase your productivity and get things done following timeboxing and time blocking with Google Calendar.
- There are n-number of time management apps and softwares available with which you can be more productive.However using various apps at times can be challenging and turns out to be a task in itself.
- So how can we manage our time and be more productive.You can use Timeboxing and time blocking techniques which are simple yet effective methods for increasing productivity.
- When these tactics are used in conjunction with Google Calendar, their effectiveness skyrockets.
What Is Time Boxing?
- The act of allocating a time period for a certain task is known as timeboxing. It’s a time management approach that can help you stay on track instead of getting in the way of your goals.
“With timeboxing, you must stick to a set time limit for an activity that would otherwise take longer than necessary.”
- In time boxing you open your calender and define the amount of time you will be spending on a particular task instead of keep working on the task until it is finished .
What is Time Blocking?
- In time blocking you plan out every moment of your day in advance and assign particular time “blocks” for specific tasks and obligations.
- While a traditional to-do list will remind your about the tasks which should be done , time blocking tells you when you should do it.
Difference between Timeboxing and time blocking
- Both time blocking and timeboxing include dedicating specific time periods to activities; however, time blocking is precisely reserving time for an activity, whereas timeboxing involves restricting the amount of time you spend on it.
- While there are lots of tools available online for timeboxing and time blocking.You can use Google calender for timeboxing and time blocking.
Timeboxing and Time blocking with Google Calendar : Step by Step Guide.
In this tutorial, we will see how we can use timeboxing and time blocking with Google Calendar.
Check your tasks on google calendar and determine the amount of time you will need to finish that task.
Step 1: Open your Google Calendar. If you are already logged in to your Gmail account you will be directly taken to your google calendar.
Check for a block of time in your calendar which will be suitable to complete a specific task as per your schedule.
For example, if you need to finish a task that requires 30 minutes, look for an hour block of time in your calendar.
Step 2: Select your decided time block on your Google calendar.
A single click will open a small window as shown below ( if you double click on the time block it will open in full screen)
Specify the title for your task and save it. You can also change the time.
Once you save you will find the event in the calendar. ( time blocking completed)
Now we need to use the timeboxing approach and set a fixed amount of time for our task.
Step 3: Double click on the previously created event. Go to end time and from drop-down select 30 minutes.
Click on save. After saving once you single click on the event you can see your event details.
Timeboxing of 30 minutes completed for our task.
You can also use time blocking to prepare yourself for the office meetings or presentations by blocking 15 minutes of your time on Google calendar just before the meeting and 15 minutes of your time after the meeting to take a coffee break.
Blocking your time will help you prepare for the meeting, gather information for the previous action items from the last meeting.
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