Productivity

Time Blocking or Time Boxing? Two Time Management Techniques to Get More Done

To block or to box? What’s the difference, and which do you need?

Photos by Alexander Grey on Pexels and Kelli McClintock on Unsplash

We often use the terms “time blocking” and “time boxing” interchangeably, but they are very different time management techniques.

In all likelihood, you can and should use both techniques; each involves a specific pre-planned number of minutes to work on a specific task. But they differ in several ways.

So, how will you know how and when to use time blocking or time boxing? Here, I’ll explain different aspects of each of these two different productivity techniques, along with some examples of how I’ve used each one.

Infographic by author

Time Blocking

Let’s look at what time blocking is, why you might want to use it, how to get started doing it, clues that you’ve achieved what you set out to do, and examples to demonstrate this time management technique.

What is time blocking?