Last year, I started 'timeboxing' and, surprisingly, the approach stuck with me. I had tried different productivity methods/'hacks' before that never made much of an impact. This one did.
I had to modify it a bit to suit my needs. This is what I do:
Monthly Goals
Though timeboxing is a daily exercise, I start by setting monthly goals. I tend to use a simple format for those:
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Three categories (e.g. work, health, etc.)
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Up to three goals per category (e.g. conduct X interviews, go to the gym 3x/week, etc.).
Daily Timebox
In the morning, I use a paper notepad and write the following:
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My monthly goals. I re-write them every day. This ensures I keep a close eye on them and is a reminder to tie most (if not all) of my daily tasks to my monthly goals).
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My three main tasks for the day. These tasks should be achievable but take work. These should absolutely point to my monthly goals.
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My agenda for the day. I break my notepad by hour from 6 am to 8 pm.
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My boxes for each task. Each box is 30-120min long. I decide where those tasks start and end (i.e. when I'm supposed to have them done).
Work
Throughout the day, I follow my agenda.
If something comes up and I must move a task, I cross it out and re-draw a box in a column next to it. It helps me review my days later and spot where I'm making planning mistakes.
It sort of looks like this:
Review
I review my day in the evening before bed. I tick each task achieved.
Then I start again.
This approach has helped me a lot this past year. Its main benefits to me have been:
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Keeping a close eye on my daily activities vs. what I want to achieve long term. It's so easy as a PM to 'do work' and fill your day without progressing towards your long-term goal.
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Forced start & end times. I'm both a procrastinator and a perfectionist -- the perfect combo. This approach forces me to start and to finish.
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Truly planning my day (without cheating). I use paper because I can't go back and change my plan, which is easy to do when using an app or a calendar. I need to really think about what I'll do which forces me to stay focused and realistic.
If you would be interested in a more granular breakdown of my methodology, I wrote my detailed step-by-step process for timeboxing.