Increase your productivity with time blocking

I used to feel like I had too many goals and not enough time in the day.

It’s those days that my imposter syndrome kicks in. I start to feel like building my career and business is too difficult. But for me, usually, this is a productivity issue. One that time blocking has almost cured.

Time blocking is making a schedule of your day with absolutely everything you have to complete, dedicating certain tasks to certain “blocks.” Here’s more about why you should try it out, and why it works.

Why time blocking?

We’ve learned throughout our lives that productivity is a desirable trait. A productive day is one you can be proud of, something to feel good about. And I won’t speak for everyone, but sometimes when things remain on my to do list at the end of the day, I start to beat myself up. 

Having unproductive days is more than okay, but if you’re looking for a strategy to increase your amount of productive days, this is a great place to start.

I actually started time blocking as a solution to my ADHD. I love my creative mind, but have a hard time deciding what order to complete tasks in. Sometimes the deciding takes so long that I’ve spent more time deciding than it would take to complete the task.

So I started taking about 15 minutes as a part of my nightly routine to write my micro-schedule for the next day. 

I include everything- breaks that I want to take, getting myself ready for the day and ready for bed, emails I have to send, deadlines I have to meet. And after I finish all my “have to’s,” I can also physically see how much time I still have left in the day to do pleasure activities that make me happy.

I’ve personally found that not only am I getting more out of my work week, I’m also cultivating my hobbies and taking better care of myself.

For example: instead of responding to all emails right away, I dedicate a certain times of day of email time. Instead of sitting down to write a whole blog post, I dedicate sections of 30 minutes until complete.

Without getting burnt out, I’m getting everything I need to do done. And I’m realizing how much free time I truly have.

Why it works

There is a reason uber successful people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates utilize this method- it’s effective. Not only do you spend less time thinking about what you need to do, the smaller sections of “focus time” leads to an increased quality of focus.

The key to time management, it seems, is really focus. We tend to multitask, which, while essential, can leave your brain scattered. I don’t mean to knock multitasking- there’s just a time and a place. And if you get a chance to test out a micro schedule, you’ll find that your attention to detail and overall presence with your project will increase.

In the end, time blocking allows you to dedicate focused time on each of your tasks for the day. And when all of your tasks for the day are done, you can focus on yourself, and gain some valuable time to recharge.