In this article, I invite you to discover another strategy to improve your productivity, called time blocking.
Before we discover how to use this tool to your advantage, I think it is important to define what time blocking is.
Definition of time blocking
Time blocking is a simple strategy to better manage your time both at work and in your personal life.
It consists in planning your day in blocks of time, then scheduling each block of time according to its importance.
The purpose of this approach is :
- to learn how to focus on what is essential to maximize the probability of achieving your most important goals
- to avoid spending too much time on activities that do not bring you anything important
Time blocking has the advantage of providing a global view of your time because you will create time blocks for your work as well as for your private life.
This allows you:
- to have a clear vision of your actions during the day
- to be aware of how you use your time and to modify your behavior if necessary
Below, I provide you with some tips based on my experience as time management coach and my research in the field of efficiency.
Without further ado, let’s move on to the first tip.
1 – Schedule at least one hour a day for yourself
You should set aside at least one hour a day for yourself because otherwise you can forget yourself and not put your well-being at the center of your personal organization system.
This personal time is the most valuable because it is the time when you work on yourself.
If you don’t know how to use this personal time, here are some ideas to help you plan it.
You can use your time to :
- engage in activities that allow you to relax such as practicing meditation, playing sports, meeting friends, playing an instrument, singing, etc.
- develop your knowledge and skills so that you are always at the top of your game
- take time to reflect on your life in a global way in order to identify and solve your problems, find new strategies to work more efficiently, improve your creativity, overcome procrastination, better manage stress and use emotions to your advantage.
If you don’t take this time for yourself, you will pay a high price for your health and that is not good for you and for others.
Understand that you deserve all the attention you can get because regardless of the time management tools you use, if you don’t take care of yourself, you will be unproductive, unfulfilled and unhealthy.
Now that you understand the importance of making time for yourself every day, I suggest you move on to the next tip which is to decide what is most important to you.
2 – Decide what is most important to you
Time blocking is only really effective if you have previously identified what is important to you.
My advice is to decide what is essential by identifying your personal values.
These are things like health, family, freedom, honesty, etc.
Not only you need to understand what those values are, but you also need to be able to prioritize them.
Then, it will be necessary to check if there is a conflict of values that could trigger self-sabotaging behaviors.
Regarding your work, it is often your managers who define your priorities but you can always identify your own.
If, on the other hand, you have a position in which you have more autonomy or if you are self-employed, it will be necessary to identify and pursue goals that are consistent with your personal values.
Once you have identified what is essential for you to do, make sure you set aside enough time to perform these activities.
My advice is to set aside additional time for each activity and to take at least 10 minutes of breaks between each task.
Try to take your breaks by doing something that completely disconnects you from your work.
This will allow you to recharge your batteries so that you can better perform the other tasks you need to complete.
Now, I suggest you move on to the next tip which is to set aside time for each task.
3 – Set aside time for each task
If you usually plan only your professional life, I advise you to think about your time in a more global way.
Doing so is important to transform your agenda into a visual tool that allows you to have a comprehensive view of your day and week at a glance.
When possible, I recommend you schedule each activity on the same day and at the same time.
This will allow you to create habits that will increase the probability of completing these activities and fight procrastination.
You should especially schedule time for tasks that take more than an hour to complete.
This includes things like writing papers, research, editing and other longer projects.
But to keep your productivity at work, take a 5- or 10-minute break every 50 minutes.
If you’re not sure if a task requires more than an hour of your time, ask yourself these questions:
Will I need to do it again?
Is there another project that is more urgent?
How much time does this task consume when I do it right?
Plan your personal life as well, even if you think it’s a limitation.
Remember, anything you plan for has a higher probability of getting done, and if you don’t plan for your personal life, you’ll be using your time for less important tasks.
Now we can move on to the next tip which is to organize your tasks in order of importance.
4 – Do tasks in order of importance only if you have a morning chronotype
Once you have ranked the tasks in order of importance, if you have two or more tasks that are equally important, then rank them by the effort they require and then by the time it takes to complete them.
If you follow this organizational principle, you will complete most of your important tasks in the morning.
This strategy will work for you if you have a morning chronotype. Chronotype is a genetic predisposition to perform better at a particular time of day.
But if you are not a morning person then this advice will not be useful to you.
If you have a different chronotype and you feel better in the afternoon or evening, I advise you to plan your tasks according to your chronotype.
You will therefore plan your less important activities in the morning or evening if you are an afternoon person or in the morning or afternoon if you are an evening person.
If you are an employee you will have to adapt more but you can suggest to your manager a slight adjustment of your tasks for one or two weeks.
But if you can organize your work according to your own functioning, you will increase your productivity and satisfaction.
5 – Don’t get distracted
Your ability to be productive also depends on your capacity to stay focused on the tasks you have planned.
To do this, it is important to be aware of what might distract you.
In simple terms, there are two main categories of distractions: those that are within your control and those that come from others.
The distractions that you can best control are those that depend on you.
To identify them, start by writing down each type of distraction you experience throughout the day.
Then, after you have completed this list, note the need that this distraction allowed you to satisfy.
Then think of other more productive ways to meet that same need.
If these distractions persist, you can question your level of motivation in order to find a strategy to understand how to motivate yourself further.
Sometimes the difficulty in staying focused on a task also depends on a person’s lifestyle.
If for example you don’t get enough sleep or have poor quality sleep, you won’t be able to stay focused on your activities.
If you are addicted to your smartphone and your notifications are constantly on, you will want to look at them all the time.
There are also many distractions that come from others.
Your workplace can be a source of distraction, for example, if it is too noisy you will have more difficulties.
It is the same if you have colleagues or a manager who disturbs you while you work.
Learn to assert yourself by explaining that you need to focus in order to work well and suggest continuing the conversation after you have finished your task.
Conclusion on time blocking
In this article, I have presented 5 steps to create the perfect daily schedule to improve your productivity and well-being.
If you are interested in the topic of productivity, I invite you to discover all my articles on productivity.
If you are looking for tools to improve your time management skills, I recommend you read my article on the best time management apps.
If you are willing to take advantage of the expertise of a time management coach, write to us now using our contact form or call us by phone or by using WhatsApp at +33 6 69 46 03 79.
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Read this article in other languages
Français : Time blocking : 5 étapes pour créer un programme journalier parfait
Italiano: Time blocking: 5 passi per creare un programma giornaliero perfetto