In essence, time blocking entails scheduling your activities, allocating a certain amount of time for each. To protect these time windows from others' intrusion, set appointments with yourself on your calendar. In this way, you can commit to making progress toward your objectives.
The problem of not time blocking
How many times have you thought to yourself at the end of the day: "I'm no closer to achieving my dreams than I was yesterday"? Have you ever felt like a hamster on a wheel, churning away but not going anywhere?
Most people think there's not enough time of the day to do everything that must be done. But with time blocking, there is.
The truth is, people can quickly get distracted by minutiae and lose focus of their goals. In today's fast-paced workplaces, most of us find ourselves inundated with email alerts, notifications, queries from colleagues, and urgent tasks that may seem important, but don't actually constitute progress toward our goals. Minor, five-minute to-dos threaten to take most of our time, energy, and effort, leaving us feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and depleted. Meanwhile, nothing gets accomplished on our top priorities.
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It's important to not confuse activity with productivity. Rather, make the conscious decision to block time off for activities that will yield the highest return on the time and energy you invest.
Prioritize progress
As one of the
Be careful here — some people set appointments for themselves for all tasks they can do, filling their calendar with those minor five-minute to-dos. This isn't effective time blocking. Instead, figure out which tasks you should do to move closer toward your desired destination. Those are the ones you should schedule.
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Making true progress toward your objectives often requires higher-order thinking, so block off time specifically to reflect. For instance, you will need to assess where you are and where you want to go, as well as brainstorm solutions to problems. Thinking time also allows you to ask great questions and come up with the best answers.
Being interrupted during these times can destroy your entire thought process. That's why it's necessary to protect these time windows.
Block off downtime
Before I started time blocking, my life was a mess because I didn't know how to turn work off, but time-blocking helped me establish an effective work-life balance.
To start, the first thing to block off is your vacation and other time off. No one functions well when they are tired and stressed. In order to perform at your peak, you need time to rest and relax. By time-blocking these periods into your calendar, you can ensure you will get the downtime you need.
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Time-blocking vacations in advance doesn't just help you unplug, however. Doing this ahead of time also helps you to delegate responsibilities as needed, allowing everyone you work with to plan accordingly and ensure the smooth continuation of work.
Similarly, time blocking can improve your personal life. To ensure you spend time being present with your family, try blocking off windows specifically for this purpose. For instance, you might allocate a half-hour every night to reading your children a story and tucking them into bed. Likewise, blocking off a specific amount of time every month to go on dates with your spouse or partner can help ensure that your relationship thrives.
Mastering the art of time blocking is the key to living a productive life. Whatever your dreams might be — whether in the workplace or at home — time blocking will help you make them come true.
