ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Timebox your Life: Be happier and healthier

Updated on July 29, 2015
Source

What is Timeboxing?

Timeboxing is a principle used in agile software development. It means that you perform tasks with a specific start and end time. Since there is a time limit, it helps you focus which will increase your productivity and effectiveness.

When timeboxing an activity, it is essential to set it to the right amount of time: if the time allocated is too small, no significant work will get done even if you are focused and dedicated; if it is too large, there will be no pressure to finish it until you reach the deadline.

Learn How to Timebox at Home

While I learned the technique of timeboxing for work, I tend to use it most often at home. Another important rule of timeboxing is that when you have reached the end time, you STOP. This truly helps me make the most efficient use out of my time and tackle tasks that I either don't want to do or sometimes feel too exhausted to do. I work full-time and have a lot of commitments outside of work. Yet, there are several things in life that if I don't do them, I will lie awake at night and be upset with myself over. For this reason, I commit to spending 15 minutes each day on them.

I love checklists since they help keep me on target and remember what I've done. So when timeboxing, I will set the timer and perform each item on my checklist until the timer runs out. See example below.

Home Timebox Checklist

Task
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Clean/Organize
Quality Time with Husband
Play with dogs
Practice guitar
Study German
Exercise

Try it Out..What do you have to lose?

Please understand me that just because I have a task of spending 15 minutes a day with my husband, that I'm not saying that the chore is difficult or that is the only time I spend with him. I'm just saying that minimum amount of time is important for me to do each day. With all of the items on my list, it is 1.5 hours of a commitment each day and then I spend the rest of the time doing whatever I please...which often includes time with my husband!

I encourage you to at least give this a shot. Start by asking yourself "What things am I passionate about?", "What things are important to my well-being, but often get cut out when I feel like I am low on time?", "What things keep me awake at night wishing I'd done more of them?"

If this works at all for you, please let me know. Good luck!

Timeboxing Resources and Suggested Reading

Here are two books I've read this past year which have really changed my life. They are quick and easy reads.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)