How to Actually Finish What You Need to Get Done
Summary
Marc Zao-Sanders explains timeboxing, a powerful productivity method where you schedule specific tasks in your calendar. This practice, he argues, enhances focus by encouraging single-tasking, reduces stress from feeling overwhelmed, and improves collaboration by providing clarity on task completion. He shares practical steps for daily implementation and discusses how this mindset fosters greater agency and intention in managing both professional and personal commitments.Episode description
There are many productivity tools and tactics that promise to help you make the most of your workday. But there is one simple practice that’s consistently been shown to be effective: timeboxing. Timeboxing is about merging your to-do list with your calendar, reserving time each day for each task you want to get done, and then truly focusing on that one thing at a time.
The return on merging your to-do list with your calendar is higher productivity, better collaboration, and less distraction, explains entrepreneur and author Marc Zao-Sanders. He shares how to try the method yourself and how your team and organization can also benefit from it. Zao-Sanders is the author of the book Timeboxing: The Power of Doing One Thing at a Time.
Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, managing yourself, time management, stress management, personal productivity
• Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Stop Multitasking and Try Timeboxing
• Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast
• Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
