To-do lists have always been part of my life, even though I have not consciously engaged in productivity. I just tried to keep sane in a world full of obligations. Intuitively, I understood its importance and how it helped me ventilate the cognitive load that accompanied my working hours. When I first connected tasks to the concept of time management, it was inefficient and at best indicated my level of stress. Until I discovered time blocking.
For the first time, a clear method helped me prioritize tasks from my endless list and determine the best time to accomplish them.
Or at least trying to accomplish them. You will soon realize that schedules tend to be dynamic, and your plans will likely change often. However, the practice of systematically focusing on tasks and time, and connecting them to your intentions and vision, will help you achieve your goals.
Let’s get started
Time blocking: what is it?
Time blocking is a simple yet effective tool for regaining control over our work week.
It became very popular due to Elon Musk, who often referred to it as his favorite time management technique. It allowed him to manage two huge successful companies while maintaining a leisure life and a family.
You’ll find it useful if you are:
- Managing multiple projects and commitments
- Spending too much time reacting to emails, notifications, and messages
- The number of meetings he attends fragments his day
- Working with constant distractions
- Struggling to find a quiet space to work, think, and learn
How does it works?
In time blocking, we divide our working days into blocks of time. For each block, a specific task or group of tasks is assigned. Instead of working with a long and continuous task list, and approaching each task spontaneously, we can start a working day with a clear plan.
Unlike a to-do list, time blocking helps us plan and understand exactly when we should do each task. If we fill our calendar with things we need to do, we are more likely to dismiss less significant tasks.
My recommendation is to use time blocking to manage your life on a variety of levels – business, personal, creative. This way it can encourage productivity and balance work, home, and leisure commitments.
During a block of time, we practice concentrating on the task we have defined for ourselves within that particular time frame. Since there are always unplanned issues, it is important to remain committed and flexible.
It is essential to prioritize your task list effectively when using this method. It is recommended to do this at least once a week and plan ahead. At the end of the day, we look at which tasks we managed to complete, what we have left for the next working day and what new tasks have come in. Then we adjust the blocks for the rest of the week accordingly.
What makes time blocking so effective?
It encourages Deep Work
If we plan a window of time for working on a specific task like solving a problem, learning something new, or anything else that requires cognitive effort, we make sure that task is given all the attention and concentration it deserves. A strict schedule can help you move from multitasking to productive single-tasking. The more you practice concentrating on a single task, the easier it becomes.
Using it reduces shallow work
In the opposite way, when we schedule superficial tasks like answering emails, browsing social media, and the like, we can schedule them in clear and predefined time windows and avoid the familiar escape of attention during a busy workday. Since shallow work is easier, those without a clear method or who are unfamiliar with deep work tend to take on easy and convenient tasks that produce only superficial results.
We become more aware of how we spend our time
Most of us are not very skilled at time management. We find it difficult to estimate the time required for a particular task accurately. In addition, we are challenged with prioritizing our tasks, and we are generally not comfortable dealing with time on a daily basis.
As a result of time blocking, we have to confront our preferences and obligations as well as how we spend our limited time. By giving ourselves an account for each new commitment, we become more balanced about what we are willing to do and what we prefer to refuse.
It helps to deal with procrastination
Several studies have demonstrated that people who set a place, date, and time to accomplish their tasks tend to be more successful than those who don’t. Time blocking helps us stay focused by ensuring we follow our goals every day.
Assists us in overcoming a feeling of helplessness
Having an open task list can quickly make us feel out of control. Time blocking helps break down the abstract sense of responsibility into small segments that are easier to manage. Knowing exactly what to do at any given moment reduces the stress associated with commitments.
What is the most effective way to start practicing time blocking?
It’s all about priorities
To start off, ask yourself, “What are my goals?”, “What is my vision?”. If the answers do not come easily, dedicate time and make it a mindful process. In order to allocate your time and tasks efficiently, you need to have a very clear understanding of what you want to achieve in your personal and professional life.
Organizing tasks
In the next step, you will need to lay out all the tasks you have scheduled for the week. It is critical to find the correct and realistic number of tasks per working day, and to focus on the most important tasks first. Some tasks are of high importance or urgency (or both) while others aren’t. Moreover, if a task can be broken down into smaller tasks, break it and see how it works for you.
For example, instead of scheduling an hour for responding to emails, check how many you need to respond to over the course of the day. Then allocate time according to the scope of the task.
Framing your workday
Set up your regular morning and evening routines in advance. Rituals that support the transition between work and leisure are helpful. This will ensure that you can transition from a mind of leisure and family to a mind of concentrated work. Practicing yoga, meditation, learning and memory exercises, walking with your dog, or anything else that works for you can be part of a morning ritual. It’s recommended to experiment with different relevant activities.
A ritual at the end of a working day can include an orderly go through the email inbox, the task list and the schedule for the next day. The purpose of this ritual is to let go of all the commitments you have accumulated during the day, even those that you still have to deal with tomorrow. You can close your computer and your office to let your head rest fully and deeply.
A helpful tip: Schedule a regular time for yourself to go over your tasks and break them down into blocks.
Schedule blocks of time
Our next step is to create a schedule from an organized and prioritized list of tasks. At this stage, we have two considerations – when and how much time to allocate for each task.
What is the right time for each task?
There is no one truth that is true for everyone, so you will have to experiment on your own to discover your cognitive tendencies. If you’ve already worked and studied independently, you probably have some idea of how long you can concentrate for.
Your most important tasks should be scheduled for mentally efficient hours. This is the place to mention a popular approach in the world of productivity that is very helpful in preventing procrastination. It is called “Eat The Frog” and it recommends setting the most significant and difficult tasks at the beginning of the work day. It makes the rest of the day easier to get along with.
Decide how much time has been allocated for each task
There are different approaches to this. The Pomodoro technique, for example, defines intervals of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest. It is also recommended to gradually increase the duration of work and maintain a high level of concentration while mentally training the ability to concentrate. In such a case, a focused work session can even be extended to an hour or more. In any case, all smart approaches emphasize mental rest between sessions.
This is a suitable place to consider Deep Work, an approach to productivity that emphasizes the practice of work that pushes our cognitive abilities to the limit. This enables us to create real value. In light of this approach, it is recommended to prioritize deep work over superficial tasks that include administrative tasks which require relatively little concentration.
How to determine a task’s duration: When you begin, overestimate your time. Most people underestimate their time, which makes the workday stressful and makes them feel behind. Take more time than you need until you learn what is necessary.
Schedule breaks and pauses between tasks
Pauses refer to short intervals between tasks during which you can engage your mental muscles in activities that do not require effort. For example, making a cup of coffee, playing the guitar, staring out the window, or stretching.
Breaks are longer periods of time throughout the day during which you are not working. Lunch is a classic break, but most people will benefit from shorter breaks throughout the day as well.
There are other reasons for breaks and intervals in the schedule. If we don’t include them, we will always feel behind the schedule because we don’t shouldn’t run from task to task and. We must recognize that transitions take time.
Moreover, there is what is known as Attention Residue (see research). It refers to the fact that if we jump directly from one task to another, especially if we have not finished the first task, our brain is still preoccupied with the previous task. Consequently, it cannot devote itself fully to the new one. The most effective way to reduce this phenomenon is to create intervals between tasks.
Follow your schedule
This is supposed to be the easiest part. However, it may take some time to adapt to the schedule arranged in blocks. Try to stay on track, start and finish at the times you set. By following your schedule, you will be able to refine your method systematically.
Fix what needs to be fixed
For the first period, you should keep track of the amount of time it takes to complete a task. This way you can determine if your time windows for a certain type of task are appropriate, too short, or too long.
Pay attention to the difference between deep and shallow work. What is the right mix that will help you achieve your goals and do what really matters? After you have discovered what you need to do, adjust your time windows accordingly.
By doing so, you will be able to eliminate a lot of wasted time and pressure from blocks that are too small.
Time blocking Vs. Task batching Vs. Day theming
It’s likely that you have encountered variants of time blocking in your research. Let me explain their concept now that we’ve gotten down to the nitty-gritty.
With task batching, we put several tasks of a similar nature into the same time window. For example, if I have a number of short tasks that have to do with order and organization, I can do them sequentially without creating separate windows.
Day theming takes this idea one step further, dividing the week into work days of a similar nature. For instance, one day is devoted to writing, one day to administration, and so forth. Individuals with a wide range of obligations, such as business owners who must engage in marketing, financial, and management processes as well as work with clients, can benefit from this strategy.
Supporting tools for time blocking
To practice time blocking, we need a task management tool and a schedule management tool. There are many options, so it’s worth experimenting and finding out what works for you.
Here’s a tip: It is always recommended that the tools you use integrate comfortably with each other. Tools that work together efficiently save time and make our workflows more convenient.
My personal task management system is Todoist, and my time management system is Google Calendar. Todoist helps me organize and plan my working days by allowing me to create an integrated task list and utilizing divisions and tags. With it, I can easily manage my time windows visually and conveniently in sync with other apps I use (such as a scheduling app).
These will cover the basics of what you need. In addition to them, you can consider using tools that prevent distractions and help you practice deep work, such as the wonderful Freedom app that blocks apps and websites, Toggl, which tracks how long each task takes, and other tools that can make it easier for you to transition to productive time management.
Another tip: You don’t want to look for additional tools beyond the calendar and task board. If a need arises, find a specific answer to it. If you have found a relevant tool, check whether its advantages outweigh its disadvantages (every tool has disadvantages, and using multiple tools may be a disadvantage).
In summary
Though time management may seem unnatural, it actually gives us peace of mind, order and freedom in a world where we run around the clock.
Time blocking is a helpful way to get a clear understanding of our responsibilities and when we need to take care of everything. It also ensures that we have time for leisure and rest between tasks and commitments.
Despite the fact that we spend a lot of time organizing our schedule, it is very rewarding. If a schedule is cluttered and unplanned, it quickly leads to an overflow of attention, a feeling of busyness and stress. In addition, it does not allow one to see priorities, developmental processes, or realize true productivity.
It is also helpful to remain flexible and enjoy the journey. Success is measured by the level of awareness and dialogue you have with your responsibilities, and not only by the number of tasks you complete.
