What is time blocking?

Time Blocking is a scheduling method that divides your day into smaller blocks of time. During each time block, you focus on a single task or a group of similar tasks. The process is simple.

Unlike a to-do list, Time Blocking tells you not only what to do, but when to do it.

This may sound like a scheduling recipe for disaster. But when you have divided your calendar into blocks of time, you can focus on your tasks and limit the ability of others to interfere with your time.

Plus, with time blocks, you can start each day with a schedule of specific tasks instead of following an ever-growing to-do list.

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Time Blocking works because it requires a weekly review of your schedule to prioritize tasks.

Once you have estimated your week, you adjust your time blocks for each day accordingly. Also, by reviewing at the end of the day, you ensure that you account for all unfinished tasks and new tasks.

In addition, blocking out time is exponentially more effective because it is based on the premise of single-tasking, unlike multitasking. Multitasking divides our attention and our ability to focus.

Focusing on a single task can increase productivity by up to 80%. You can really focus for an hour or two at a time and get profound work done.

With time blocking, your schedule becomes your touchstone and you no longer have to decide what to focus on.

If you ever get stuck on what to do next, just look at your calendar, find the appropriate time block, and get back to work. That way, you will not waste time or energy deciding what to work on next.

But time blocking does not mean you have to give up necessary but time-consuming tasks like email and administrative tasks. The secret is to simply stack these tasks and schedule them as a block on your calendar.

Over time, you'll become more productive because you will not be bouncing between tasks and you'll be able to focus on one type of project at a time.

If anything in the following list sounds familiar, Time Blocking could be a great way to take back control of your schedule:

Your work life is so hectic that you can not find time to focus on the big issues like strategy and long-term direction.

You are dominated by meetings and can not focus on the things that really matter.

You feel like a victim of your inbox, constantly answering email requests throughout the day.

You find it difficult to break down and plan larger tasks.

Your job requires you to juggle many different responsibilities, tasks, and projects.

You struggle with work-life balance and finding time for fun.

You want to try a new work style to increase your productivity.

You want to achieve more of your goals.

You want to do more deep work (focus on one task over a longer period of time instead of superficial work where you keep switching tasks).

Once you start down the path of time blocking, there will be some longer term benefits.

Tasks will get done faster and with more attention to detail because you can focus entirely on the task at hand. Instead of spreading your energy across multiple tasks, you can focus entirely on the important task at hand.

Time blocking gives you the opportunity to refocus on your priorities and what is truly important in your life. This is especially evident when you block your calendar each week and have to make decisions about what is most important.

Time blocking is key to eliminating procrastination because you have a set amount of time to start and finish a task.

Time blocking helps you master meeting interruptions. If you have time blocked for meetings, you will not feel guilty about turning down meetings that are not on your block.

Time blocking allows you to work more efficiently once you have similar tasks grouped together in a block of time and can bring skills to bear to complete the task. In contrast, you will waste time switching back and forth between dissimilar tasks if you do not have a time block.

Time blocking helps you better understand how long tasks actually take to complete. This will help you with future time planning and making commitments.