Is Time Blocking the Best Work Strategy for You?
What is this buzzword I keep seeing all over the place anyways?
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Buzzword
This, my friends, is one of the newest buzzwords we see on the internet, so there is no better time to define it.
Surprisingly, though, this word is not new. This strategy for planning/organizing your day has been around since the dawn of time. It has simply evolved and can mean many different things depending on the job you are in.
A new year is fast approaching, and with a new year everyone will be getting that much-needed reset. Whether that means getting more active, cleaning the space you live in, or in this case, redefining how you operate at work.
Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way first: the definition.
Time Blocking
The definition is really in the word. Don’t you love it when a word perfectly matches its definition?
Time blocking consists of simply breaking up your day into chunks of time where you dedicate those chunks to specific tasks or objectives.
You can keep time blocking high level by breaking out your 8-hour workday into specific hour chunks. You could also choose to take it even further and break your day up into 15-minute chunks if you built like that.
I always think a healthy, well-throughout, diversified number of chunks will work best for the majority of jobs people have.
Here is a great example of what a time blocked calendar may look like:
Source: https://fellow.app/blog/productivity/ways-to-improve-time-management/
Sidebar
Time blocking also has cousins. Those cousins are day theming, time boxing, and task batching.
Diving deep into these close relatives of time blocking is a whole new article, so for now, only the basic definitions will be provided below:
Day Theming – Breaking up entire days focused to one major theme of your job
Time Boxing – This is the “I’m going to work on this task for 30 minutes and only 30 minutes, because I give too much energy to this task, and I have other things that need to get done today” kind of blocking
Task Batching – Filtering your tasks into groups of similar tasks so that you can focus on everything to do with the theme of that batch of work. This makes it easier to move on to other batches, but still being able to cover a wide range of task types.
Does Time Blocking Work for Me?
Great question! Now that you know the definitions, many of you might be asking yourself this question.
To answer that question, you must first answer one different question. Yes, I know you are confused, but ask yourself, “Do I work in a reactive job?”
If the answer is yes, it will be a lot harder to implement time blocking.
Why?
Reactive jobs require you to move quickly on your feet and respond to unforeseen circumstances throughout the day. You cannot plan your day as according to a strict schedule, which is the definition of time blocking.
Scenario: Your job is dictated by your email inbox. What you will be doing for the day is up in the air until you check your email. You never know what kind of emails you are going to get so it can be hard to time block.
Different scenario (one where time blocking would work): Your job has reoccurring procedures in place that you do on a weekly basis. You would benefit from a few hours each day dedicated to one aspect or procedure of your job.
The good news is most jobs have a mix of both reactive and active aspects so you will be able to time block some of the time!
Roadblocks To Watch Out for
We have defined it, we have described it, and now we must prepare for the bumps in the road ahead. Nothing is ever simple lol.
Here are some common roadblocks that can hinder your success while time blocking:
You did not define your blocks well enough
When you just start out trying to implement time blocking you can easily fall into the “keeping it to broad” category. This can hold back your success as you are not allowing yourself to focus on a set list of tasks during a specific duration of time.
Too many checks and balances in your role
If you work in a role where you need a lot of outside input, such as a client facing role, internal team members approval, or in general work on large teams, this can make time blocking difficult. You will probably run into times where you do not get all that you wanted done during that block because of needing to wait for things outside your control.
Becoming too rigid and forgetting to adapt
Every job has change and your time blocking schedule will not last forever. So, you must be flexible and be able to adapt your blocks on a monthly/weekly basis. My best tip is to set up your time blocks for the following week at the end of the current week you are on. That way each week you have a new time block that you are putting into motion.
Best Tools/Resources
What are the best tools out there to help me start time blocking today?
I found a great article by Zapier that defines the best applications out there to get you started!
You can also start time blocking with whatever calendar application you use currently for your job or personal schedule. You could even take it to the real basics and whip out a pen and paper.
Comment Below
I used to use a lot of time blocking before I moved more into a reactive job. Now I use it from time to time depending on the week ahead.
If you have adapted time blocking in your daily work life, leave a comment below defining your best practices to help the community of readers!
Cheers, everyone! Happy Holidays!
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Sources
Fellow: https://fellow.app/blog/productivity/ways-to-improve-time-management/
Great read on time blocking! I've always been an advocate for efficient time management, and this strategy resonates with me. Time blocking offers a structure to our workdays, breaking them down into manageable chunks. However, as pointed out, it may not be suitable for all types of jobs. For those looking to further improve their time management, I'd recommend learning more about time management smart goals (https://productive.fish/blog/smart-goals/). This approach complements time blocking, providing clear objectives and outcomes to aim for during each block. Thanks for the insightful article!