The Secret Power of Time Blocking Method That Gets Things Done

Have you ever wondered how do successful entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates have such high levels of productivity? There are only 24 hours in a day, so how do they manage to get so much done in such a short amount of time? What’s their secret? 

Time blocking.

Time blocking is a time management technique. And it’s pretty simple.

Time management is the secret to success. And although there are several time management techniques out there, very few actually work. Time blocking is one of them.

Whether you work 9 to 5 at the office or have the chance to work remotely, time blocking is definitely something you should look into. After all, productivity and organization go hand-in-hand. 

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the time blocking technique.

So if you’re looking for a way to optimize your time or if you’re just interested in exploring different techniques, keep reading as we’ll answer questions such as:

• What is time blocking and where did it come from?
• How can you incorporate time blocking into your routine?
• What are the benefits of it and why is it so popular? 
• When does time blocking work? And who shouldn’t use it?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you sign up or make a purchase I might get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my business. See full disclosure.

What is time blocking? 

As we already mentioned, time blocking is a time management technique.

It essentially helps you take control of your time by scheduling or breaking it into chunks or blocks, making you more productive. Time blocking is the practice of planning out every moment of your day in advance and dedicating specific time “blocks” for certain tasks and responsibilities. 

While a standard to-do list tells you what you need to do, time blocking tells you when you’re going to do it.

History

Benjamin Franklin was known to be an early adopter of the time blocking technique. He broke down the activities he would undertake every hour of the day, including rest and chores.

With the rise of technology and personal digital assistants, time blocking has transformed from a paper-and-pen format to a digital format. Digital calendars eliminated the need for paper ones and made the time blocking technique one of the most popular productivity approaches.

But the person who popularized this method in modern days is no other than Elon Musk. He uses a 5-minute rule – in one 5 minute block, he replies to an e-mail; in the other block, he packs a meal.

So how does time blocking work? Let’s find out.

How it works

Now that you’ve understood the essence of time blocking, here’s how it all works in more detail. There are two steps you need to follow – plan your tasks and define time blocks.

Plan your tasks

Firstly, you need to define your tasks for the week (I’m sure many of you already do that).

Once you’re ready, you’re likely to end up with a chaotic list of many tasks. Urgent items, tasks you can delay, deadlines, tasks you need more time to execute, small and important tasks…Where do you start? 

Scrap all the unimportant ones and limit your daily schedules to 3-5 priority tasks per day.

Ensure recurring tasks such as answering emails, handling client calls, administration work, etc. Highlight these priority and unavoidable tasks. You can even separate these tasks into even smaller tasks.

Now that you’ve picked your priorities and organized a complete to-do list, it’s time to define specific time blocks and label them in your calendar.

How To Organize Your Life With A Notebook

Read More

Define time blocks

Now you need to decide on two things. When do you need the block of time, and how long do you need it to be.

• When – define specific start and end times. 

There’s an ideal time for everything. So what’s your ideal time for work? When are you the most focused and alert? Is it in the morning, in the afternoon or the evening? Figure that out for yourself. This is the time when you should schedule your priority tasks.

• How long – determine the task duration

Rule number one is never to define more than 90 minutes for a time block. In fact, according to the Pomodoro method, you should separate your tasks into 25-minute work-time and 5-minute break-time.

Once you’ve decided how you’ll handle your time blocks, simply add them to your calendar. You’ve laid out the ground rules; now, you just need to follow them. Stick to your schedule, and you’ll quickly find out that your productivity levels are rising. 

BONUS TIP: At the end of the day, review your work to ensure that you don’t have any missed or unfinished items.

If you still can’t visualize it, here’s an excellent example of a calendar customized according to the time blocking technique. 

Track your results

Keep in mind that it’s also important to reflect on your results. 

Is your calendar perfectly separated into blocks, or do you need to make some adjustments? Maybe you need more time to do specific tasks. This means you should modify the task duration. Or perhaps you’ve found out that you’re more productive during other times of the day. This also results in a change of your blocks.

Either way, don’t be afraid to change your approach. After all, your goal is to increase productivity levels.

Why does time blocking work? 

Okay, now you know how time blocking works, and you’re probably wondering why does it work? There are three main reasons. Let’s explore them.

Creates reflection habits 

Firstly, time blocking works because it requires a weekly review of your schedule to prioritize tasks. Once you’ve completed your plan for the week, you can adjust your time blocks accordingly for each day. 

Lets you focus on a single task 

Secondly, time blocking is an excellent time management method because it’s built on the premise of single-tasking, unlike multitasking. Many people believe that they can do multiple things at once and do them all well. But most of them only believe that they’re multitasking effectively. In a nutshell – there’s no such a thing as effective multitasking. And that’s why time blocking works – it’s a single-tasking approach.

Saves time

Finally, tie blocking works because it saves you from scheduling every individual task on your calendar. So while to-do lists are a popular time management technique, they’re time-consuming (ironically enough) since you have to schedule every task individually.

Who’s it best for?

Time blocking won’t be effective if your calendar is mainly filled with meetings. If deep work is something that doesn’t often exist in your schedule, then time blocking probably isn’t the best technique for you. But that doesn’t make it a bad approach – it just fits other people more than you.

Nevertheless, time blocking is particularly useful if:

• You tend to try to multitask
• You need help focusing on one task and reducing distractions
• You want to be intentional about your time and energy at work
• You need a clearer sense of where your time is going each day
• You struggle with overworking

Additional time blocking tips

By now, you probably got the hang of it. 

Create templates

You can speed things up if you create a time-blocking template. You can leave empty slots with start and end times. Fill them out with tasks as you are tasked with them. For example, if you shower, eat breakfast, and check emails every day simultaneously, these should be permanent items on your calendar. Everything else you can fill in on the go.

BONUS TIP: If you don’t want to bother creating templates from scratch, here are some free templates you can download in PDF and then print out or fill out in Google Sheets.

Follow theme days

Many successful people incorporate theme days into their time blocking schedules. If you find it hard to do the same thing every day and be productive, you need to keep it diverse; this would be great. I love this approach, and I found out t works great for me since I get easily bored. 

Here are my theme days as an example:

• Mondays – writing articles for the blog
• Tuesdays – focus on marketing and SEO
• Wednesdays – working on course assignments (I’m taking a graphic design course)
• Thursdays – writing articles for the blog (same as Mondays)
• Fridays – working on strategies for the next week and planning

This way, I keep it exciting, and also, my days appear to be way more structured.

Final thoughts 

Productivity and organization go hand in hand. And time blocking is a great way to blend those two together. So, to sum up – does time blocking work? Yes. But does it work for everyone? No. So before you dive into it, make sure to evaluate your options. There are several other time management techniques that might be more suitable for you.

Time Blocking Method: How It Works and Why you Need It