Timeboxing: Maximise your Time & Apprenticeship | by Sean Patten
If you've just started your apprenticeship or are looking for a method to plan your apprenticeship/ Off the Job (OTJ) time, I'd like to introduce you to Timeboxing: a method that massively helped me improve my productivity throughout the lockdown and many other major changes.
What is “Timeboxing”?
Timeboxing is a time management method where you “box” or block your calendar with activities and/or tasks that are looking to be completed within a day, week, month, or year. How far you plan ahead is up to you (I work three months in advance). Timeboxing forces you to be proactive and plan ahead, asking questions as to what is to be completed in the weeks or months ahead.
How do I "Timebox"?
To complete timeboxing, you first identify and list the activities you are looking to complete within a time period defined by yourself. Once this is done, you prioritise these activities and determine if any of them have deadlines and/or are flexible to move about. Then, similar to a jigsaw, you piece together your activities to fit within your time period like so:
The gaps in the calendar above show where there is free time for any more activities to be placed within that were at first either not known about or not created.
Using Timeboxing As an Apprentice
Being a Multiverse apprentice provides the perfect opportunity to use Timeboxing. Other than the module workshops, apprentices are expected to manage their OTJ accordingly, to remain at 100%. Workshops only contribute a small proportion of the monthly OTJ, meaning the onus is on the apprentice to structure their apprentice time each week.
Below we have Bill and Bob and how they approach their apprentice hours; from a monthly viewpoint. Bill and Bob both work for the same role, for the same organisation and are completing the same apprenticeship programme, which requires them to complete six hours of OTJ time on average each week:
Within Bill’s calendar, you can see that his apprentice time is blocked out during the month, with time allocated to his launch essentials, e-learning, OTJ and assignments. If Bill was to attend a Multiverse Community event or any other apprenticeship activity, this would also be booked into his calendar.
Bill has 33 OTJ hours booked for the month above, which means that Bill is nine hours ahead of his targeted OTJ hours within the first month. If you then compound the nine hours each month, across a 15-month programme, Bill will have completed 135 OTJ hours more than what he is targeted to; which equates to nearly 17 days extra.
Let’s now compare this to Bob’s calendar:
Within Bob’s calendar, you can see that his apprentice time has not been blocked out during the month, with activities such as completing the launch essentials module, e-learning, OTJ, and assignments not being allocated time to be completed during work. The Flying Start and Module Workshop are only in Bob’s calendar as they have been sent to him by Multiverse.
In comparison to Bill’s 33 OTJ hours booked in for the month, Bob only has 6 hours booked in, a difference of 27 to Bill and more importantly 18 hours behind the OTJ monthly target. This means that Bob is already more than two days behind after the first month of the apprenticeship and would ultimately mean Bob could not complete the apprenticeship as he has not completed the mandated hours.
Whose situation would you prefer to be in?
It is fair to say that planning something doesn’t mean you will complete the activity, however, what it does create is the intent/purpose to complete an activity or task, which is always the first step to achieving a goal.
Whether you have just started your apprenticeship here at Multiverse, you’re in the midst of your programme or you’re approaching your End Point Assessment, timeboxing will help you to maximise your time and focus on whatever activities you are completing for your apprenticeship. The key points are:
- Identify your tasks/activities within a defined time period (week/month/year)
- Prioritise the identified tasks/activities, based on importance and flexibility
- Place tasks/activities into free periods within the calendar
- Commit to the booked tasks/activities
- Reflect and repeat
Give it a try between now and the next month and see if you notice any improvements to your productivity and time management.
Sean Patten is a Business Transformation Fellowship coach at Multiverse.