Do you ever wonder why you can only accomplish a small percentage of what you planned despite working 40 hours a week? Are you feeling like you’re not accomplishing enough? The best action to take in this case is to Time Block – let’s talk about it!
Time blocking is one of the most influential time management strategies. It is an effective method for managing workloads; as a result, you will become more productive in a shorter amount of time. All that is required is a straightforward adjustment to your schedule.
But how can you be sure that you are following the steps correctly? This helpful instruction simplifies the process into a few straightforward steps.
Why is Time blocking essential
Time blocking is incredibly effective. This will undoubtedly involve a substantial change in how you conduct business, but after you’ve grown used to the new routine, the benefits will be great. Here are the main three arguments for trying it:
You accomplish more.
You will be able to increase the quantity of work you do each day as a direct result of the increased productivity that results from setting aside specific blocks of time in your calendar so that you may focus entirely on a particular undertaking. When you are not continuously beginning and stopping what you’re doing, it is much simpler to make progress on your project.
Your work continues to get better in quality.
As a natural and unavoidable result of the adjustment, the overall quality of your work will dramatically improve with the more significant emphasis you have adopted. As a result, not only are you able to do a greater quantity of work but the work you do turn in is also being increasingly refined and improved.
You don’t feel as stressed.
It’s exhausting to jump from one activity to the next in rapid succession! Even if you are unsure when the next deadline is, you still work as quickly as possible to complete everything. On the other hand, the time blocking method, which involves a thoroughly formulated work plan, will give the impression that everything is significantly easier to carry out (and in turn, will be!).
How to effectively time block your schedule
Time blocking may sound straightforward, but any time you’re talking about a significant shift in habit, difficulties are inevitable. However, the good news is that everyone can get through these challenges. The steps you should follow while making your time blocking calendar are listed below, along with some advice.
Step 1- Determine your priorities.
Not every task is considered equally important.
- Take a look at your schedule for the week and list everything that has to get done.
- Decide which tasks are essential or merely a waste of your precious time.
- Consider which jobs or projects would result in the worst possible outcome if they were not completed. These are the tasks that need to be completed immediately and are of utmost importance.
- Ask yourself which tasks, if completed, would not only have a significant positive impact on your life but would not give you any significant troubles. The following items on your priority list should be necessary but not urgent tasks.
- Make a note of any impending due dates for tasks so that you can ensure that your prioritization is accurate.
A quick tip: You will encounter actions that don’t have significant positive or negative effects during this prioritization procedure. These responsibilities should be abolished or, at the very least, assigned to someone else because they are probably unnecessary. Your time will significantly increase, allowing you to focus on crucial activities.
Step 2- Estimate each task duration.
It would be best if you had a rough estimate of how long each task will take, but you shouldn’t stress too much about getting it right. It is essential to maintain a daily journal in which you list your activities in the order of their priority.
This will allow you to calculate the amount of time you spend on each activity and modify your plan accordingly. Suppose you do not keep a journal of your activities. In that case, you will have no idea how much time you spend on each task, and this will not only prevent you from being able to account for periods when you are unproductive but will also prevent you from not wasting time.
Step 3- Leave time for flexibility.
Make room in your schedule for some flexibility to handle last-minute changes. Put some time aside each day for work that comes up unexpectedly. This is a sensible backup plan that will protect you from getting off track because no matter how thoroughly you plan, something will undoubtedly get dumped on your desk that requires your urgent attention. However, this will prevent you from falling off the course.
You will have more time to do your errands if you schedule some time to deal with unanticipated problems, but if those problems do occur, you will have less time to deal with them.
Step 4- Work on some breaks.
Remember that you’re still just a human being. Likely, you can only work for brief periods before being bored and tempted to browse the internet or begin watching movies on YouTube.
Instead of fighting against yourself, build some short pauses into your routine that you can look forward to. You may always continue working through a break if you’re in the zone and putting in a lot of effort, but taking pauses at regular intervals will motivate you to keep going.
Step 5- Examine & put into action.
Look back over the events that have taken place over the past week to verify that you are not overlooking any significant tasks or making any blunders. You should make the appropriate adjustments. The method of Time Blocking needs to be practiced and put into effect over time, and even then, you won’t get it right on the first try one hundred percent of the time.
At least once every couple of months, it would help if you made time in your schedule to conduct an analysis. During this time, you should compare and contrast what has been successful with what has not. It would be beneficial to pay some attention to the strategies or plans that would assist you along the way (things like calendar apps, for example).
Have you tried Time Blocking? Let us know what worked & didn’t work for you! If you need help with starting a plan or have other organizing needs, please reach out to our team at info@sortedout.com. We would love to help!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Tonia
