Time Blocking, AKA How I Stay Sane

Hours Categories Productivity

According to Johns Hopkins University, the average adult experiences more physical, chemical and emotional stress in one month than our grandparents did in an entire lifetime. Time blocking is a way to keep you organized and reduce the daily stress in your life.

What Is Time Blocking?

Time blocking is simply planning your work by blocking specific time slots for specific activities.

Why Use Time Blocks?

  • Studies show it takes 15-20 minutes to get fully into a task. Stopping and starting constantly means that you aren’t able to fully focus on the task at hand.
  • Seeing time blocks on your calendar helps you mentally prepare for them. Just as you prepare for a meeting with a client, seeing a task on your calendar also helps you get ready for that activity.
  • It helps you limit distractions because you have a set amount of time to do a task – deadlines make the task more urgent!

How Do You Spend Your Time?

The first step in setting up time blocks is knowing how you spend your time. Depending on your job, you may deal with the following on a daily or weekly basis:

  • Existing clients
  • Sales, new clients
  • Networking and education
  • Marketing, advertising
  • Human resources, accounting
  • Personal – Family, children, household, charities, religion

To track your time, stop each hour and write down what you just did. (It’s not as hard as it sounds!) Track each day for two weeks, and then organize your tasks into groups. Those groups become your time blocks!

Setting Up Your Time Blocks

  • Do one thing each day you hate doing – this will avoid letting these tasks build up into a mountain that seems overwhelming. 
  • Try to schedule the same time each week for specific blocks. For example:
    • Monday – Marketing and advertising reviews
    • Tuesday – Sales follow-ups, reach out to cold leads
    • Wednesday – Social media scheduling
    • Thursday – Business development
    • Friday – Banking and accounting
  • Be realistic – know what time of day you are most productive or creative, and schedule appropriate tasks during these times.
  • Schedule time for breaks, exercise, reading, meditation – whatever is important to you. It’s easy to let ourselves get consumed with work and forget to take breaks! By scheduling time for these activities, it makes them a higher priority.

Working In Your Blocks

  • Treat blocks like appointments
  • Eliminate distractions: turn off your phone, email notifications, close social media tabs or apps.
  • Have a place to jot down ideas that come up; don’t switch gears to work on it right away. Chances are, as you are working in a block you might remember something you need to do, so write that thought down and do it later.
  • Blocks can be moved to different times, but don’t delete them! If you have your Marketing block set at 10:00 am on Tuesday, but a client needs to meet with you at the same time, by all means, move the block. But MOVE it, and do it at another time. 

Daily And Weekly Reviews

  • Start each day by selecting 3 MITs (Most Important Tasks) from your main to-do list. Looking at endless tasks lists = overload! Once you’ve scheduled time for your 3 MITs and you’ve completed them, go back to your list and choose 1-3 more tasks depending on how much time you have.
  • Schedule a weekly review to look at next week’s schedule and create your blocks. This is also a great time to celebrate what you accomplished this week, and brainstorm ideas for the future.