The value of time blocking

In this fast paced world, we still need to get things done even when it feels like everything is urgent and there is simply not enough time. There is enough time but that feeling….can quickly push us to be less productive and even push us into overwhelm.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Buxton.

What is time blocking?

Time blocking is really just scheduling your to-do list against your calendar. You block off the time you’ll be working on a specific thing ahead of time, and then during that time, you work on the thing. The key to effective time blocking is doing it for the week ahead and never over commit time wise. A little like I always suggest with a client “Under promise & Over Deliver” treat yourself the same way when time blocking your day.

“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss

If it is Tuesday morning and you need to write that new article for Linkedin or have a presentation to pull together by Thursday you time block the activity. You might decide to block out two afternoons to focus on each task. That’s time blocking. Always prioritising work-flow. A reminder here however is to commit it to paper works better than electronically because it clear’s your mind to focus on the task. Rather than thinking about other stuff while “trying” to focus.

What are the benefits to time blocking your week?

1. It makes you master of your time and your daily schedule
2. It is a socially-acceptable way to say “no” to others who want to waste your time
3. It ensures you priorities your work with action
4. It stops procrastination
5. It helps you work in-flow and be proactive (rather than reactive)
6. It stops mental energy leakage where you maybe draining your mental capacity
7. It forces you to be realistic with your time
8. It balances the urgent with the important
9. Give you a structor to priorities tasks even ones that take a lot of energy
10. It creates a record of how you spent your time – measuring effective work
11. It trains you on better time management and how long tasks actually take
12. It can empower you around setting up procedures and systems in your day/week so you are not re creating the wheel daily

Now we have an clear idea on how to time-block our work-life, let’s look at our non-worklife activities and ensure we are prioritising them too. In fact, you should put them there first. Diligently time block everything non-work related before you time block your work, and watch as your work-life balance magically improves.

It is an amazing tool and once you start time-blocking you will wonder why you had never used this simple tool before. You see you are in control of your time, you just need to prioritise it. Time comes and goes no matter what…..if we achieve stuff or not!

A REMINDER HERE:

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Yoda – The Empire Strikes Back