Time Blocking for Better Productivity
Time Blocking is one of my goals for 2016... I definitely need to get back to being diligent at it and planning my days vs allowing my days to dictate my productivity.
We are all extremely busy... some of us for good reason and some of us for the simple fact that we let every little minor bump in the road derail our day. Fires will always arise that need to be handled but if we block our time and get our needed tasks done and fine tune our schedules we won't be running around all day not accomplishing anything but feeling at the end of the day like we were constantly on the go with nothing to show for it!
Everything I have read about time blocking always says to begin with scheduling your personal life items first... Kids have soccer every Thursday or family dinners or working out... make time to do these important things (they are why we work so hard) - then build in your week's work, make things color coded in your calendar. As an example, if it is an activity or action that is meant to bring you money it should be green. If it is a non-negotiable item or something with a deadline make it red. I know some people who say they won't read emails except between certain hours of the day because they could derail your schedule... and in all honesty, they are very successful people... their thought process is if something is urgent that person will call you. I have also seen many people talk about the necessity to build in some flexibility to your schedule - every couple of hours add in a 30 min flex time break, whereby if something has derailed you, it gives you time to get back on track. Also always remember to schedule yourself time for a lunch break... if it's not on your calendar you may wind up at an appointment with a customer and your stomach is talking vs you!
I'd really like to hear everyone else's time blocking ideas to help me gain better insight into my own scheduling practices... as an example - do you have field days where you're doing nothing us but being out in the field visiting customers or doing sales/marketing activities? Do you have full meeting days where you just line up meeting after meeting and knock them all out in a day or two a week? Do you have administrative time built in? Do you read emails all day or just at specific times throughout the day? What is one non-negotiable item you ensure is ALWAYS part of your day or week? I am currently setting up a template for myself that I will be happy to share with anyone who would like to use or tweak it to their needs, just let me know and I will be happy to email it to you!
Have an amazing 2016 and I hope to do business with all of you this year!
Wendy Walker
Branch Manager - Long Beach
Prime Source Mortgage