Time Blocking — how to transform your weekly routine and boost productivity

If you are feeling overwhelmed with your daily tasks, there is a solution!

Time blocking is a productivity technique — you divide your day into distinct blocks of time and then dedicate each block to a specific task or group of tasks. Using this method helps you to stay focused, prioritise tasks, and organise your day whilst reducing distractions.

By prioritising the right work at the right time, you can organise your calendar to allow you to focus on what matters most to achieve your goals.

Getting started

It’s all in the planning — take time to outline what you want to achieve, what takes priority and set realistic timescales for tasks.

First … because it’s important ...

• Schedule personal time — it is vital that you block out downtime. Do it first so that it doesn’t get squeezed out by ‘everything else’. Consider what works best for you — short ‘mini breaks’ in between tasks (much like the Pomodoro Technique) or scheduled blocks of time for a longer walk, or yoga session. Taking breaks helps with productivity — it’s true!

Now that you’ve blocked off some time every weekday to step away from the desk and take a proper break, we can look at the work stuff!

• ?Block out essential meetings so you can see where time is already taken.
• Identify tasks — Determine what needs to be done on any given day or week.
• Prioritise tasks — Understand which tasks are most important, and which can be deferred in the event of an ‘emergency’.
• Group similar tasks together — Capitalise on the ‘flow’ of complementary activities that use the same systems or thought processes to save time.
• Recognise when you are most productive — If you are an early bird, schedule tasks that require the most energy and focus in the morning. Or if you are prone to an after-lunch slump, block out time for some smaller ‘easier’ actions so you can remain productive.
• Group meetings together if possible — Try to block meetings close together, allowing for short breaks in between to recharge and reset yourself. This will then free up longer blocks of time for more focused work during the day.
• Allow for unexpected work or lost time — It is inevitable that unexpected work will crop up, things will take longer than planned, someone will phone you, a team member needs your help, and so on. Make time in your schedule for a little wiggle room. Be aware that unexpected does not always mean ‘more urgent’ — always consider the priority of the new task and try to schedule accordingly.

?Adjust and Adapt

It may take you a while to get to grips with time blocking, so continue to tweak and re-label time blocks to suit your working style. You might find that your original time blocks are a little too vague. For example, blocking out 3 hours for ‘marketing’ is not nearly specific enough and you need to drill down further and be more precise. This is time blocking, but not as you know it! This is the Default Diary.

As the name suggests, the Default Diary is a time-blocking tool to plan what you will do by default — those important activities that are fundamental to the long-term progress of the business, as opposed to those that are simply ‘urgent’. ?With 30-minute time slots (some people even use 15 minutes) you can focus on working in a proactive way and not reactive.

I found out about Default Diary from my ActionCOACH – it is one of their key tools when it comes to business coaching. I’ve been using it for five years now and I literally cannot imagine working without it! Why not give it a go yourself!