Over time, you'll get better at time blocking - especially estimating the amount of time you need for different tasks, one of the hardest parts. Step 4: Test and revise your time blocking strategy It might also help to keep notes on which parts of your schedule work, and which parts don't. Follow it for a few days to a week to see how it works for you. Now for the fun part: it's time to live your time blocking schedule. It makes Tuesday night feel like I'm an 8th grader on a Friday night!" Step 3: Follow your schedule And on Wednesdays and Fridays, I don't schedule any meetings at all. I really try to avoid having any meetings before noon or 1 PM… I try to bunch up meetings to give myself enough opportunity to get into flow. "This goes back to the idea of intentionally choosing what not to do. "For my calendar, one of the things I learned to do is block off 'maker time' when things can't be scheduled", he said. James recently told us about how he consciously blocks off "maker time" in his calendar on a regular basis. Even though each block may not have a specific goal, this lends structure to your entire day - it allows you to give yourself time to relax, catch up, and avoid burnout, but doesn't allow that time to get away from you.Ī great example of this in practice comes from founder, investor, advisor, author, and podcaster James Beshara. The idea is to build your time blocks so that when one ends, a new one begins very quickly, scheduling your entire day - even if that means adding in blocks for "free time". Once you've estimated the length of time needed for each block, insert it into your calendar with start and end times. It's better to have extra time leftover in your blocks than to be rushing to fit everything into blocks that are too short. When it comes to work tasks - for example, completing a report or doing project research - aim high. Start by estimating how long each item on your list will take you to complete. Once you have your task list, it's time to start assigning each item to a time block. Step 2: Define time blocks for each task or project Tasks and projects for work will be the obvious ones, but you may want to time block for your personal life, too, and include things like meals, chores, workouts, social gatherings, and anything else you can schedule. List all your tasks and projects for the upcoming time period in which you want to time block. You can do this daily (many people choose to block time at the very end of their work day for planning the following day), or, if you typically know your schedule in advance, you can do this weekly. The first step is to set aside time for planning. Time blocking is pretty straightforward, and only takes a few steps. Many people who practice time blocking do so not just for work, but also for their personal time - they follow Benjamin Franklin's example and schedule everything from work meetings to workouts. Today, time blocking is extremely popular in productivity circles. Franklin was also known for blocking off hours at a time for deep work, as well as time blocking his two-hour daily lunches. One of the earliest (and best-known) proponents of time blocking was Benjamin Franklin, who was known to carefully schedule his days, right down to time set aside for taking naps or doing chores. In fact, there's evidence that calendars discovered from the Bronze Age were created to correspond with specific agricultural jobs, which is a very rudimentary form of time blocking! The idea is to divide all of your time into dedicated and easily manageable "blocks" that each have a purpose or a goal.It's not known who "invented" time blocking - it's been used for as long as there have been calendars. Time blocking (also called calendar blocking) is a time management technique where you schedule your entire day. And on its surface, time blocking looks like a great way to juggle multiple tasks and projects, avoid distractions, and regularly build time into your days for everything from meetings to deep work to big-picture thinking.īut how do you embrace the power of time blocking, while still leaving time in each day for your team and their needs? It's easier than you think - read on to learn from time blocking experts on how to nail this sometimes tricky balancing act. Time blocking is a way of controlling your schedule and workday that's been used and popularized by the likes of Elon Musk and Bill Gates. "A 40-hour time-blocked work week, I estimate, produces the same amount of output as a 60+ hour work week pursued without structure", he said. Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work, was also a big proponent of time blocking.
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