Happy Sunday, Team!
Do you have items on your To-Do list that you just never seem to have enough time to complete? If so, you are not alone. In 2022, Dave’s Killer Bread did a survey of 2,000 people and found that 60% of the respondents said they did not have enough time to get everything done in their day. The study continued on to say that on average, people stated they believed they needed 4 hours more per day to be able to get everything done!
Unfortunately, this post is not an announcement of a time manipulator where we can add more time into our day. However, I do believe in a system that may not win any science awards, but it can allow you to accomplish more throughout your day with the same amount of time. Introducing, time blocking.
If you have consumed any amount of content centered around productivity, then you have likely heard the term time blocking. I was first introduced to the idea by my wife, but I was initially skeptical of the idea. First, lets explain what time blocking is.
We all have the same amount of time per week, 168 hours. You then block certain amount of time for given events that occur throughout your week. The idea is you assign a purpose to every hour of your week, which will allow you to ensure tasks are completed and their is not chunks of time wasted throughout your day.
I was initially resistant to this idea because I did not want to sit down and plan out my entire week. I did not want to get burnt out just focusing on being productive 24/7. So instead of listening to my wife, I decided I would just continue to wing my days and fit in what I could fit in. Fast forward a couple years, and I had continued feeling like I had more tasks to accomplish then I possibly had time to complete. I felt I was utilizing all of my free time to be purposeful with work, trying to start and grow a business, and spending time with my family; however, I was sure there was a better way. I decided to keep track of what I did for an entire day to see if I could be more efficient.
What I found was my mind and time were always split amongst different tasks, and it would lead to me taking 25 minutes to write an email that should have only taken 3-5 minutes if I just sat and focused on it. I sat there, unsure of how I could make an improvement, until I remembered that my wife had been doing time blocking for a couple years at this point and she really enjoyed the freedom it gave her.
I decided to sit down one morning and time block out my next week. The first thing I noticed was how much time I had per week that did not have a specific purpose. Initially, I filled all of this empty time with being productive and focused on the business or a meaningful task. I mean after all, I didn’t want to plan time for me just sitting around the house. I made it almost 2 full weeks into this before I found myself starting to veer away from the schedule I had set for myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be productive, but I found it hard to stay focused and motivated all day, every day.
This brought me to my first, very important, realization about time blocking. It is not about auditing your 24 hour schedule to ensure you are using every possible second to be productive. It is about being very intentional about when you choose to be productive, so you can maximize the time you have allotted for yourself.
People may fight back about that notion, and state that if you want to be successful then you have to be willing to work harder than everyone else. I do not disagree that you have to be willing to work hard and make initial sacrifices, but I would argue that I would take 3 hours of deep work compared to 8 hours on intermittent focused work. Time spent on a specific task is not analogous with quality of the work.
The second realization I had was how important scheduling in time to turn your brain off was as it is to turn your brain on. This ties into the first point, but by scheduling in time where you do not have to be thinking allows yourself to maximize the time when you are in a working mode. You can “feed” the distracted portion of your brain with a mindless activity just enough to keep it from overflowing into the time when you are supposed to be working distraction free.
By sticking to these two rules and looking at ways to improve my time block weekly, I have been able to focus on spending quality time with my wife and dogs, work Monday-Friday in the clinic, exercise daily, work on my personal business outside of the clinic, and have enough free time where I do not get burnt out with my daily life. It will take some time you get your time block schedule perfect for you, but if you are auditing it weekly you can continue to improve it for your needs and your current situation.
Below is the step-by-step guide I use to create my own time block schedule.
Open a calendar to weekly view that is specifically for your Time Block schedule (I use Google Calendar)
Input the hours that you are going to sleep each night (Plan for at least 7 hours to ensure you are getting enough sleep to be rested/recovered for the next day)
Input your work schedule with drive time
Input the time you have designated to exercise (I recommend trying to keep this consistent even on days you do not work if possible. If you are not going to the gym on those days, you can utilize this time to go for a walk outside, or work on some extra mobility work that you have been neglecting!)
Input the time you spend eating meals that are not at work
Input weekly chores that are done (grocery store, cleaning, cooking, etc)
Look at the remaining time and input free time into your days and other commitments you might have
Ensure all 168 hours of the week have been accounted for, and then follow the plan for the next week
At the end of the week, make changes to the following week as you need. This is the most important step to ensure you are staying on track with the schedule and it is realistic. For example, I originally planned dinner to be 30 minutes, but after the first week I realized it would take be closer to 45-50 minutes to cook, eat, and clean up. I made the appropriate change for the following week so I could stay on track.
I know this might seem like a lot of work, and it might be the first time you create it. However, after that it usually only takes 10 minutes of refining for the following week. I have found myself becoming more productive with the same amount of time each day, and I have not been burnt out due to the scheduled brain breaks I take. Of course, my wife had the right idea well before me, but I am just happy that I jumped on sooner rather than later.
If you want to maximize the hours within your day, then I recommend you give time blocking a try! If you have questions about how I set mine up or how to structure yours, then leave a comment below and I will respond to all of them.
- The Movement Method Team