Timeboxing is the answer
Uncertain about your career options? Low on
self-con dence? This column may help
I graduated in 2020 (B.Tech. Civil) and joined the IT sector as a Programme Analyst in 2022. But I was either in training or on the bench. I am now anxious about getting another job. I am interested in Data Analytics and Actuarial Science. Is there some way to gain knowledge and experience and improve my employability profile? Shikha
Dear Shikha,
Start equipping yourself with certifications in Data Analytics and/or Actuarial Science. Join online courses on platforms like Coursera, edX, Udemy and so on to get a taste of what they are. If you like them enough, go deeper. Try and join professional associations, forums, and online communities and attend workshops, webinars, and conferences related to Data Analytics and Actuarial Science to network and engage with professionals, ask questions, seek professional advice and stay updated with current trends. You could find mentorship, internships, and/or job referrals.
Work with online resources, textbooks, and tutorials to develop projects, participate in competitions and build a portfolio to showcase your skills. Look for freelance opportunities, as they will help you get hands-on experience and build relevant skills. Create a professional LinkedIn profile highlighting your skills, coursework, and projects. Share articles, insights, and your projects on platforms like Medium or personal blogs and demonstrate your expertise and passion for the field. Contribute to open-source projects on platforms like GitHub.
I have completed my graduation and am preparing for the UPSC exams. As a back-up option, I was considering Urban Planning. Is there any scope in this field? Sakhi
Dear Sakhi,
Urban planners design and shape the development of cities and communities to ensure that they are sustainable, functional, and meet the needs of residents. It is a profession on the rise. Urban planners create vibrant, smart cities by integrating technology with urban planning processes and smart solutions. You can help address the complex challenges of managing urban growth with housing, transportation, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability.
There is an ever-increasing need for sustainable designs and resilient planners to tackle climate change, natural disasters, and environmental degradation. You could also be a consultant at any consulting firm, real estate development companies, non-profit organisations, and research institutions. This is a powerful, transferable skill across borders, and there could be opportunities to work on international projects, collaborate with global organisations, and contribute to urban development eorts across dierent parts of the world.
I finished B. Com in 2022 and have been working for a year. I want to do my Master’s abroad. Is one year of work experience enough? Also, my financial situation is not very good. So how can I look at study abroad options? Lakshmi
Dear Lakshmi,
Valid work experience and duration depends on the prerequisites and programme requirements. Some institutions prefer applicants with more work experience, while others may not require any at all. Check the admission criteria and then shortlist the programme.
While researching this, also explore the costs involved and the various scholarships and financial aid that you may be eligible for.
Many government, non-profit organisations, and private foundations provide scholarships to international students based on academic merit, financial need, and/or other specific criteria. Apply to as many as possible to increase your chances of securing funding.
International students are allowed to work a certain number of hours per week, as this helps with expenses and reduces the financial burden.
Explore the possibility of a student loan to finance yourself. Develop a realistic budget for your study abroad expenses, including tuition, accommodation, living expenses, travel, and other miscellaneous costs. Study the loan terms carefully and assess your ability to repay realistically.
Some universities oer assistantship or internship opportunities to assist professors with research, teaching, or administrative tasks. Check what is available for course and the eligibility requirements.
Finally, look for courses and destinations that oer lower tuition fees and cost of living compared to others. my interests include politics, international relations and economics. In college, I didn’t participate in any extracurricular activities or win any competitions. Will I be able to get through the interview? Are there any competitive forums for those not enrolled in colleges? Parveen
Dear Parveen,
While it is disappointing that you do not have any extracurricular activities and skills to showcase in your CV, your interview will assess your academic qualifications, understanding of current aairs, innate communication skills, critical thinking, analytical abilities, clarity of expression, and suitability for administrative roles. Your overall personality is scanned.
So focus on presenting yourself eectively. Try and broaden your knowledge of and stay updated with current aairs, economic development reports, national and international events and government policies.
You could join study groups or online communities and forums where you can uninhibitedly ask questions and exchange thoughts and ideas. Check out a few mock interview sessions as well and work on your confidence at a coaching centre, as they not only simulate the experience but also give valuable feedback and help identify areas of improvement.
Disclaimer: This column is merely a guiding voice and provides advice and suggestions on education and careers.
How to deal with short attention spans, making decisions and allocate
your energy and live a mindful life
What is timeboxing? Timeboxing is often con ated and confused with similar-sounding approaches to time management: time-blocking, scheduling, daily planning, single-tasking, calendar management and timetabling ...
They are collectively and individually unsatisfactory. I propose that timeboxing is the method and mindset of: Selecting what to do, before the day’s distractions arise; specifying each task in a calendar, including when it will start and nish; focusing on one thing at a time; doing each to an acceptable (rather than perfect) standard.
This denition accommodates the most important elements of the practice: intentionality, focus, achievement, order, completion and the creation of the timebox itself. It also makes the important point that we should box the time when, and only when, we have the wherewithal to do so. All the rules we make (the law, coding conventions, household policies) as a civilized society are examples of making a set of decisions at the outset, in a moment of cerebral calm and consideration (often by a carefully appointed committee), to help make life smoother in the long run. Timeboxing applies that principle to a special and
Wspecic circumstance: you.
Though not quite a denition, an alternative and also useful way of thinking about timeboxing is as a synthesis of your to-do list and your calendar. The todo list tells us what to do. The calendar tells us when to do it. The combination is much more readily actionable and useful than either on its own.
It’s also worth distinguishing timeboxing from time-blocking. Time-blocking is the blocking o of time to do something. Timeboxing is time-blocking + committing to getting the task done in time, within the box. In other words, time-blocking is about exclusive focus; timeboxing is exclusive focus + specied outcome.
Timeboxing basics
... Here are the very basics, beyond the denition, for you to familiarize yourself and experiment with, from tomorrow, or even today. You’ll need the right mindset. You’ll need a positive attitude and a belief that this may work ... As for the method, there are two activities that together constitute timeboxing — planning and doing. Here’s what you need to do for each.
Plan (before the day). Set a period of time (15 or 30 minutes), before the busyness of the day clouds your mind and impairs your judgement, to decide what’s most important and needs to get done.
Set a daily (ideally digital) calendar appointment for this planning session, rst thing in the morning (or last thing the night before). Make the appointment recur so you won’t ever miss it.
Review your to-do list. If you don’t keep one, start! To-do lists feed timeboxing; the better your to-do list, the better your timeboxing.
Select some of the most important and urgent items from that list and add them to your calendar. Make the best estimate you can about how long each task will take. Don’t worry, yet, about the ordering — just get them in.
Start, make mistakes and learn quickly. To begin with, you will frequently under- or overestimate how long tasks take — this is normal.
Do (during the day)
Start on time.
Remove distractions, the most dangerous of which by far is your smartphone.
Stick to the plan. Don’t second-guess yourself and undermine your earlier decision. Barring an emergency, what you thought earlier in the planning process, when you were calm and clear, is better than what you think to do reactively in the maelstrom of the day.
Finish on time. Get the job done. Do not permit the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Good is usually good enough.
Aim to share what you’ve done as you nish each timebox. This brings a useful pressure to get it done and make it good enough to share.
You’ll get distracted and derailed. Expect this. When it happens, practise coming back to the timebox (return to the calendar), to your original task. With experience, your distractions will become fewer and shorter-lived.
Timeboxing, is unusually perfect for experimentation as you go. Every morning you wake and have a brand-new chance to try out what you’ve learnt, tweak it, experiment with it, question it, make it your own. Do not pass up this opportunity! To ease into it, you might like to try timeboxing every other day (Mondays — Wednesdays — Fridays or Tuesdays and Thursdays, say). This sort of arrangement will enable you to contrast a life with timeboxing against a life without.