Time Blocking—an Organizational Hack That Works!

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Have you seen the popular meme of the brain with too many tabs open? 


It’s relatable, right?


Multi-taskers might feel they deserve “props” for being able to juggle so many things at once but the problem is that it usually leaves you distracted, unfocused, and scatterbrained. 

Enter Time Blocking. 

Time Blocking is a time management hack that essentially forces you to close all your other “mind tabs” and focus only on one. In time blocking, you group your day into blocks of time, each block devoted to specific tasks and ONLY those tasks. 


By grouping like tasks together into one time block, you increase efficiency by eliminating the need for starting and stopping tasks multiple times. 


For example, blocking off 40 minutes to answer all of your emails will be supremely more productive than checking emails every 10 minutes—or every time you hear the little “ding.” (Feeling like Pavlov’s dog?)


Research shows that the more you focus all of your mental resources onto one project—instead of spreading it out across several tasks—the more you can flex your mental muscles for DEEP WORK and stay engaged and productive.


Do you want to kick procrastination to the curb? When you only allow yourself a finite amount of time to complete a task you mentally push yourself to START now.


And for all you PERFECTIONISTS... a time block helps you to stop tweaking and say GOOD ENOUGH!

So how do you get started with time blocking? 

1) Categorize and Batch Your Tasks


Create 4-6 block categories and place your daily tasks into them. Be sure to include things you HAVE to accomplish and those that you WANT to accomplish. And don’t forget to add the recurring tasks like picking up the kids, laundry, working out, etc. 


Some categories might be:

  • Client work

  • Email management

  • Household duties

  • Health and wellness

  • Lead generation

  • Creative thinking

  • Meetings and appointments


The most challenging part of this is STICKING to the CURRENT time block and not allowing distractions to creep in. That might mean taking a phone call later if you’re in the middle of a client project, or being “in the moment” when you’re out on a run, instead of trying to respond to a text.


Committing to one task in the allotted time is the key to success for this time management strategy.

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2) Prioritize and Tackle

There is something to be said for placing your more difficult tasks at the beginning of the day when your mind and energy is fresh. And of course, there will be times when you’re working against deadlines.


Put these in the first time blocks of the day. Once you get through them you’ll have a sense of accomplishment that will motivate you to keep being productive.


And make sure to not over-allocate too many tasks to each time block. If you have any remaining tasks, evaluate whether they can either be delegated, deleted, or simply held off for next week.


A typical day might look like this:

  • 9 AM - 10 AM Respond to emails

  • 10 Am - Noon Work on writing projects for clients

  • 12:00 - 12:30 Lunch

  • 12:30-1:30 Household duties, laundry, dishes, bills

  • 1:30-3:00 Podcast Production Client work

  • 3:00-4:00 Respond to phone calls and emails

  • 4:00-6:00 Social Media Management

  • 6:30-7:30 Run

  • 8:00 Eat dinner

  • 9:00 Relax


3) Tackle and Repeat


A pro-tip when starting out with time blocking is to set up your day the night before. If you wake up knowing what you have to get done you’ll head into your day with purpose and confidence.

Also, don’t be afraid to test out different versions of time-blocking. There are some great apps to get you started, here. We’re going to try SkedPal and we’ll report back on our findings.

Your time is one resource that you can’t get back once it’s used up. If you’re like us you want to be intentional and steward it well. 

If you’re a time management NINJA leave us a comment on your tips and tricks!




Michelle WellsComment