Implementation Intentions

 

implementation intentions

from Art of Manliness Podcast episode with guest Marc Zao-Sanders who writes on Timeboxing. Z-S talks about the concept of "implementation intentions."  It's the fancy terms for why timeboxing works.

it’s a statement that you make of the form. When situation X arises, I will perform response Y. So not just I wanna lose weight or be kinder or go on vacation, but you’re saying that when a certain thing happens, then I will do such and such and such. So timeboxing is exactly that because it’s saying with the situation arising, at a certain time when the situation X arises, so when it’s say 1 o’clock, I will do such and such activity. What the science behind it says, and you can Google this, implementation intentions, you’ll see a bunch of journals that basically say, look, if you say that you’re going to do something at a certain time, you’re very, very likely to do it, about 90% chance of doing it. Whereas if you just have a vague notion of, well, I probably should do it and there’s some light encouragement, it’s more like 30%.

So actually, there was a study in which there were three groups. The first group was a control group. So they were just given the instruction. It was about exercise. So they’re given the instruction to just record when they do exercise. The second group was given some motivation and educational material and also asked to record the exercise. And then the third group were instructed to timebox it. The first two groups are very similar, about 30, 35% of them did the exercise or exercise weekly. But the third group, the time boxes, they did it to… I think it was 91% of them exercised weekly. 

From Harvard Business Review article by Zao-Sanders

 Five years ago I read Daniel Markovitz’s argument for migrating to-do lists into calendars. Since then, my productivity has at least doubled.

That momentous (at least for me) article describes five problems with the to-do list. First, they overwhelm us with too many choices. Second, we are naturally drawn to simpler tasks which are more easily accomplished. Third, we are rarely drawn to important-but-not-urgent tasks, like setting aside time for learning. Fourth, to-do lists on their own lack the essential context of what time you have available. Fifth, they lack a commitment device, to keep us honest.

--- ----

Fourth, you will feel more in control. This is especially important because control (aka volition, autonomy, etc.) may be the biggest driver of happiness at work. Constant interruptions make us less happy and less productive. Timeboxing is the proper antidote to this. You decide what to do and when to do it, block out all distractions for that timeboxed period, and get it done. Repeat. Consistent control and demonstrable accomplishment is hugely satisfying, even addictive. This is not just about productivity (largely external), this is about intent (internal, visceral) and how we feel.

Fifth, you will be substantially more productive. Parkinson’s law flippantly states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Although it’s not really a law (it’s more of a wry observation), most of us would concede that there is some truth to it (especially as it pertains to meetings). A corollary of this observation in practice is that we often spend more time on a task than we should, influenced by the time that happens to be available (circumstantial) rather than how long the work should really take (objective). Disciplined timeboxing breaks us free of Parkinson’s law by imposing a sensible, finite time for a task and sticking to that. Although it’s hard to precisely quantify the benefits of any time management or productivity measures, this is clearly enormous. Just take a commonplace example: do you habitually take two hours (cumulatively, often drawn out over multiple sessions) to complete a task that really could have been done in a single, focused, time-boxed hour? If the answer is yes, then your personal productivity might be double what it is right now.