What is time blocking?
Time blocking is the time management practice of dividing your day into blocks of time of which you focus on one specific task or a group of related tasks within those blocks. Time blocking allows you to become more intentional with your time and decreases stress by removing the cloud of cluttered thoughts and mental to-do lists. It has easily become a part of my self-care routine every week. Yes… my self-care routine involves creating my weekly schedule with an organized and thoughtful system that sets my mind at ease knowing I’m flawlessly preparing for a solid week. PSA: self-care isn’t just bath bombs and pedicures!
How to incorporate time-blocking:
Brain dump!
Write out all of your tasks for the week. These tasks can be household chores, errands, workout classes, meetings, business duties, etc.
Prioritize
List these tasks from most important/urgent to least important/urgent
Categorize
Bundle the tasks into their appropriate categories such as cleaning, cooking, health/fitness, family time, social media, self-care, appointments, and work.
Block
Choose the amount of time you’d like to dedicate and limit yourself to for each category each day of the week. If you need to set a timer to hold yourself accountable to these allotted categories within their time block, do it! Use your time blocks to achieve as much as you can within each category before moving onto your next block. It’s important to always try to overestimate rather than underestimate the amount of time you’ll need, so give yourself realistic goals for each day by putting your top priorities at the beginning of each categorized block.
Reevaluate
Review your accomplished tasks at the end of each day. Use this time to add new tasks that may pop up to the remainder of the week, remove tasks that may not be necessary or needed anymore.
Increasing productivity and improving focus is a GAMECHANGER when you’re trying to level up in your personal and professional life. Creating a strong method to manage your time and projects is critical to continual growth. Grab your mess of a mental to-do list and try out time blocking today!
