HOW TO USE TIME BLOCKING

Table of Contents
About the author .............................................................................. 3

Introduction ...................................................................................... 4

What is time blocking? .................................................................... 6

Disadvantages of complete time blocking ...................................... 8

The partial time blocking method .................................................. 10

How to set your time slots for partial time blocking .................... 12

What are the pitfalls to avoid while time blocking?...................... 16

What are the advantages of time blocking? ................................. 18

Conclusion ..................................................................................... 21

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About the author

Maxim Dsouza a self-improvement,
productivity, and time management
enthusiast. He spends every day of his life
trying to find better ways to do things. Many
of my experiments fail and some of them
succeed.

He loves to share what works for him and

what hasn’t on his blog, Productive Club. His
resources are practical and actionable. You
can access them for free here.

On this blog, he shares his thoughts, ideas and tips on:

• Goal Clarity
• Productivity
• Time Management
• Decision Making

He is the author of the book, the Magic of 2 Seconds. Your mind can do
amazing things in 2 seconds. This book is all about learning how to become
self aware by improving your decisions and avoiding mistakes in less than a
couple of seconds.

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Introduction
Do you have too many things to do but not enough time? You try to get
things done but you fall short on something or the other every single day.
To make that worse, the tasks you postpone are the ones that matter to
your dreams the most.

But here’s some good news for you. You can solve that problem by using
time blocking. In this book, I will cover:

• What time blocking is – the regular approach

• A modified time blocking approach I designed myself(for those who

hate scheduling their entire day)
• Advantages and disadvantages of each approach

A few years ago, I had the habit of working long hours every single day.
Even after the strenuous day, tasks remained pending. I would pull my hair
and exclaim, “Damn, I still have a lot to do tomorrow.”

The worrisome part was that nothing changed the next day. Long days
and incomplete tasks had become my routine. I would end up tired
every day without any major progress towards my long term goals. One
fine day I slammed the table and said “Enough of this”. I had realized the
need to change my working style.

While I sat thinking about how to change my style of working, I recalled one
of the techniques on time management I had read earlier called time
blocking. The method seemed worth a try but I had procrastinated applying
it because the idea of scheduling the whole day on the calendar seemed
tedious to me.

But now, over the years, I have modified the time blocking method to suit
my schedule and style. I know many other people who prefer not to

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schedule their entire day, so if you’re one of them, you will find my
modifications useful.

For those who do not know the meaning of time blocking yet, I will explain
how to apply the technique the usual way and my way. This book will serve
as a guide to time blocking for both the traditional and tweaked style.

This technique is one of the most effective methods to prevent wastage of

time. Read the detailed guide on how to stop wasting time

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What is time blocking?

Time blocking is the process of going by your day by scheduling

tasks and activities hour by hour. You set up a start time and duration
for a meeting, don’t you? Likewise, you set timelines for each task in a day
in advance. Simple.

Voila. You learned the time blocking technique in a sentence.

While your to-do list tells you what’s pending, the time blocking
schedule tells you when to do it. Because you assign blocks out of your
time to a task, we call the technique time “blocking”.

If you follow the time blocking method to the dot, here is how your calendar
would look like. Let’s call it complete time blocking.

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Every hour of the day has a clear purpose. You set a plan of getting things
done on a day and then go ahead and execute it. Boom!

Many executives block their calendar as shown above. Elon Musk is said to
break his day into 5-minute schedules. Such breakdowns are not only
extreme and rare but also require a superhuman to pull off.

Such a method works wonders for your results but has some challenges to
implement. These challenges were the reason why I was never a fan of
complete time blocking.

You can use specific time blocking apps if you like, but a calendar will get
the job done.

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Disadvantages of complete time blocking

1. Requires effort to plan

Scheduling your day to the level of tasks by hour requires careful planning,
time and effort. Whether your reason is laziness or lack of time, not
everyone can plan to run their whole day on a premeditated schedule.

2. Things go against the plan

More often than not, some task takes longer to complete. For example, you
might intend to spend 30 minutes on the report you have to send. On a
normal day, 30 minutes suffice but one day, you face a technical glitch or
the data seems too complex to analyze.

Since you have to send the report, you have no choice but to extend the
timeline you set for yourself. As a result, your whole schedule gets thrown
out of the window.

3. Wrong estimation
“Most people overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what
they can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year, and
underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade.”

- Matthew Kelly

As human beings, you and I tend to overestimate our abilities. You assume
you can complete 10 tasks in a day but manage only 5.

People misinterpret the time available in a day to get work done. As a

result, one task takes longer and eats into the time of the next. A cascade
of such errors follows throwing your plan for the day into complete
mayhem.

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4. An unplanned event derails the plan

Unexpected events are bound to occur and when they do, you have to go
against your schedule.

• Someone walks up to you and asks for a favor

• You receive an unexpected call

• A normal operation at work runs into an emergency.

Such anomalies annoy you and confuse your schedule leading to
unproductive hours.

Complete time blocking yields fantastic results, no doubt. But it is not

everyone’s cup of tea to plan the day in advance by blocks. It
definitely wasn’t mine.

I liked some elements of the technique and overall the system delivered
results. But somehow I felt frustrated with the idea of planning my day first
and changing it when the need arose. I found a lot of my time and energy
went into the whole planning and rearranging blocks.

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The partial time blocking method

Over time I realized I could keep the parts of the technique which I could
plan and execute while skipping the rest. So I plan my day today in
blocks, but I do not go the extent of breaking my whole day into time
chunks. I have certain blocks of time dedicated to certain activities, leaving
the rest to ad-hoc responsibilities.

Today my calendar looks as shown below:

I still have blocks assigned for certain tasks while allowing time for things
that come up during the day. But I have other hours for ad-hoc work which
comes up.

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How to determine which task needs a slot and which task

doesn’t?
I use a simple thought process to determine if a task needs a time block or
not.

I ask myself, “Will the task help me achieve my long term goal?”

If the answer is yes, I assign a time slot for it. If not, I will complete the task
during the ad-hoc blocks I have.

For example, I have many long term plans for my blog. I believe improving
the quality of my writing and learning more about blogging as two important
aspects of the goal. So I make sure I set a 30-minute slot each day to
improve in those areas.

Writing articles is the core of growing a blog, so I have slots for writing
content. I have multiple of them at different times in the day.

Many other tasks constitute as shallow work, which as per Cal Newport is
work without intense focus. Tasks such as emails and meetings have their
prominence, but they do not impact your long term goals. At least not
directly. But I cannot stay away from meetings or emails altogether. So, I
set aside enough time as a block to perform tasks that do not influence my
long term goals but are necessary.

So I make my time blocking decision by simple segregation of:

• Long term goals

• Daily responsibilities

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How to set your time slots for partial time blocking

Here is how you can create your time blocking planner manually.

Step 1: Identify long term goals

Make a list of the long term goals you care about. The more specific
you are, the better you can focus on them. If you are not sure about
your goals yet, try answering these 3 questions to help you narrow
down your long term goals.

Step 2: Find out how much time you have in a day

Only by knowing the hours available in the day can you segregate time
effectively. Many people claim they work 12-15 hours a day. When you
take into account the shallow work, multitasking, texting, and social media
browsing, the actual work hours come down to less than 7-8.

Be brutal and honest about the hours you spend on work every day. You
can use the activity to determine where you spend your time every day.

Step 3: Start with small-time blocks

To begin, schedule 30 minutes a day on one activity of your long term
goal. Do not make the mistake of thinking, “What can you do in 30
minutes?”

While 30 minutes seems too short, the results compound over time in
magnitudes that you cannot fathom. I have only spent 30 minutes a day
learning the skills of writing. In the early days, I did not see much of a
change. Now, I have followed the routine for over 6 months. I am nowhere
close to Shakespeare, but I see the quality of my writing far superior to my
initial articles.

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Allocate a block of 30 minutes to your long term goal and stick to the plan.
In 3 months, you will surprise yourself. After a few weeks, you can add
more time blocks to work on your long term goals.

Step 4: Make time for ad-hoc responsibilities

No matter how well you plan, certain things will pop up. Leave enough time
to work on such tasks. If you do not, these tasks will run havoc with the
other plans you have.

Make sure you check emails within such a block. You can block a slot for
checking emails separately too. Emails seem harmless but kill your
productivity and focus.

Keep this slot big enough to accommodate most of your days. Sometimes
you might finish all your ad-hoc responsibilities much within the time
window you planned. On such days, leftover time in the slot to work on your
long term goals.

Step 5: Leave open time blocks in between

At times, tasks can take longer than expected. So leave some empty slots
which you use based on need. If tasks go as per the original plan, you can
use the unoccupied slot to work on your long term goal.

I leave slots open and if nothing else comes up, I use the slot to write some
more articles for the blog.

Step 6: Measure by time spent or another number

Put a number on any task you’re working on related to your long term
goals. When you have a figure, you cannot hide from a lack of progress.

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Sometimes measuring a task with a number is straight forward and

sometimes it needs thinking. The scenario where you cannot put a number
at all is quite rare.

Here are 2 easy ways to put a number to a task:

a. Measure by time

To keep the equation simple, measure how long did you spend on a task.
Tasks that go on for a long duration best suit such measurement. For
example here are my tasks which I measure by time:

• Spend 30 minutes a day learning writing

• Spend 30 minutes a day learning blogging

• Spend 30 minutes a day thinking

There are days where I have read only 5 pages in 30 minutes and on some
days I have read 60. Do not try to break a sweat over a daily
performance difference when you’re measuring by time. In the long
run, the time spent will balance as a good average.

b. Measure by value

Think of putting a number to help you track progress. Here are some
examples of measuring by value:

• Reach out to 3 bloggers for collaboration

• Write 1500 words today

• Write 5 Quora answers this week

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The time taken to complete such tasks varies each day. On some days I
can write 1500 words in a single flow while on another day I struggle to
gather words. Again, do not stress yourself about your varying productivity.
Trust the plan and keep going.

Step 7: Rinse and repeat

Monitor your progress and vary your schedule to suit your needs. No
schedule exists which serves the purpose for every single person.

If your slot to work on your long term goal seems too small, increase the
duration or have many slots. If you run out of time to check emails often,
expand your ad-hoc work slot. If you find yourself with too many open slots
regularly with nothing to do, schedule a task to reduce the unoccupied
blocks.

Implement, improve and improvise.

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What are the pitfalls to avoid while time blocking?

As a concept, time blocks look exciting. Doesn’t it seem like the perfect
solution to all your procrastination problems? Well, well, here are some
common errors to can avoid:

1. Don’t be over-optimistic
Do not try to overdo the slots and tasks when you begin. If you break your
slots for the whole day by 30 minutes but fail to keep up with the plan, you
will hate yourself. You might consider yourself a failure or the technique
stupid.

Be honest with how much you can achieve. When you begin, set slots
such that you can execute your plan. Keep some additional time to
complete a task even if you are capable of delivering faster. Sticking to the
slots will deliver better results in the long run than trying to fit in too many
slots that you cannot keep up with.

Over time, you can add more slots and shorten the time within each slot.
Consider the technique as a marathon, not a sprint.

2. Slipping sometimes is ok
The most common mistake people commit with time blocking is dropping
the idea when they cannot work as per the slots. You might assume that
you cannot work and deliver in blocks. But usually, the truth is, your
planning is at fault than the execution.

If you make an aggressive plan, you are setting yourself up for failure.
When you fail to meet the schedule, do not kick yourself. Analyze where
you went wrong and increase/decrease the size of the slots to make
amends.

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3. Not leaving a slot for shallow work

When time blocking helps you get things done and make constant
progress, overconfidence creeps in. You might feel tempted to delete the
slots you have for ad-hoc responsibilities(day to day work, emails, calls) to
stuff more in.

Not leaving time for such shallow work leads to consequences in some
shape or form. For example, reducing my time on emails could lead to
missing a reply to a partner and damage my relationship with him/her.

Feel free to reduce the slots for ad-hoc work little by little. But if you intend to
cut the time of these slots by half, be wary. Analyze if you can make the shift
without any negative consequences.

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What are the advantages of time blocking?

Whether you use the original method of complete time blocking or block
your calendar in parts, you will notice a significant difference in your daily
performance. Here are the advantages of time blocking:

1. You will focus better

On a normal day, you have a certain amount of hours to work and a ton of
things to do. As human beings, we tend to stick to an incomplete task
for a long time even if another task needs attention.

For example, you might have a long term goal of starting your own
business but your daily job somehow consumes all your time. If you block 1
hour a day towards starting your business, a year later, you would have
come a long way.

The time blocks force you to focus on tasks and goals which help you
grow in the long run. It helps you shift your focus from immediate/urgent
problems to long term targets.

2. You will do things that matter

Every day you spend unnecessary time working on tasks which serve no
good. You might deny it saying that everything you work on is necessary
but think again. For example, if you work on a weekly report, ask yourself if
enough action comes out of the report you create. Among the meetings
you attend, would skipping half of them make any difference?

I can guarantee you that some of your repetitive tasks do no good for your
career. You follow them as a part of your routine without considering the
benefit of it.

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I understand that you cannot stop them all because you would annoy your
boss or a client. All I am saying is, using time blocking you can reduce the
time you spend on such activities.

3. You will notice progress in 3-6 months

When you start applying time blocking by allotting small slots for your long
term goals, you will not notice any difference. A few days go by and then a
couple of weeks, but you still see no results.

Things start changing as a month passes by. You find your baby steps
yielding small results. 3 months later, progress takes an upward curve.
Depending on your goal, your efforts will yield results at different timelines.

Playing the guitar for an hour a day for 6 months will make you a decent
beginner. Working out an hour a day for 6 months will make you lose a
significant amount of weight.

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4. You will accept a good deliverable over a perfect one

People feel the need to deliver a perfect product even when it is not
necessary. For example, programmers chase a rare bug for hours
together. A hairstylist spends an extra 30 minutes to cut the hair down to
the right millimeter. A sales executive works 2 more hours to tune up the
shades of blue in the presentation.

Striving to be perfect is not always a bad mindset. But often enough, we

go after perfection by spending more time than necessary when a
decent outcome does the job. You could instead use the time spent
working on covering all ends on another important task.

Time blocking forces you to complete a task within the slot. If you stick to
the plan, you have to work faster and skip the boundary case scenario
which was not worth the extra time anyway.

5. You procrastinate lesser

When you finish a task, you lean back on your seat and relax. You pat
yourself on the back for the task completed and wonder what should you
work on next. In the meantime, you decide to scroll your Instagram news
feed. One thing leads to another and you find yourself watching a Youtube
video 45 minutes later.

Taking a small break to avoid the next task is how we procrastinate. The
problem is, it does not stop at a small break. The break time expands like a
snowball rolling down a mountain. The reason why the snowball started
rolling was that you had to decide which task to work on next and you
decided to delay the decision.

Time blocking solves the problem by having a predetermined plan for you.
When you hit the time slot, you know you have a task to do, so your “small
break” remains small.

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Conclusion

Learning how to use time blocks is easy. The trouble lies in the discipline
required to implement it.

Time blocking seems like a tedious job when you begin. And it is, especially
if you decide to go from a state of chaos to scheduling your entire day. The
more drastic your change, the more difficulty you will face in executing it.

Is time blocking effective? Yes indeed. But if you have no experience with
creating time blocks before, do not schedule your entire day step by step.
Do not bite more than you can chew. Schedule slots of 1-2 hours at most
and let the change sink in. You can even take a few weeks or a month to get
used to the new model of working.

Once you feel comfortable, bump it up a notch and add more slots. In a few
months, you will get the hang of it. What was previously a slot for a
useless meeting will soon turn into a slot to work towards your long
term goals.

I would love to know your thoughts on time blocking. I would be all ears to
your feedback because I am eager to find ways to improve. I will listen to
negative comments with an open mind and make an effort to fix your
concern.

Drop me an email on [email protected]. I look forward to

hearing from you.

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