Time blocking: How to get more done

Giving blocks of time a purpose can lead to great things

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about how to use time blocking to
achieve great things with your schedule. While there are lots
of opinions on the rules or definition of time blocking,

(00:25):
fundamentally it means setting certain times on your schedule for
certain activities. If you don't have to make these decisions
in the moment, you can ensure that you're spending enough
time on anything you think is important to you. You
no longer did there about whether you should be making
phone calls are writing blog posts. You no longer transition
inefficiently between these two activities. Instead, you know what sort

(00:48):
of work goes where. While this sounds regimented, it can
actually be a great system for people with more spontaneous personalities.
A business owner who decides to do marketing from two
to three d p m. Every afternoon can decide each
afternoon what kind of marketing she most feels like doing.
But by giving this time a label, she knows that

(01:09):
she will devote time to marketing and it won't get
ignored in the bustle of daily life. In any case,
people who time block well can handle quite complicated lives.
On my blog recently, I profiled a woman named Catherine
who had managed the feet of working thirty to thirty
five hours a week while homeschooling five children and exercising

(01:30):
every morning except Sunday. This was possible through the miracle
of time blocking. She homeschooled from roughly eight am to
noon each day, then she worked from twelve to six
while the kids were with a sitter or her husband.
She generally exercised from six thirty to seven thirty AM.
She blocked out time on Saturday for creative writing. Some

(01:51):
email happened elsewhere, but by sticking to this schedule she
was able to fit all kinds of things in her life.
So as you think about your skip, think about what
tasks deserve a regular time, what blocks would work best.
Maybe you always work on business strategy from eight to
nine am. You meet with and coach employees. From nine

(02:13):
to eleven, you travel around to meet with clients and vendors.
From eleven to three. You work on marketing from three
to four, and wrap up everything by five. You can
do this with your personal life too, as Katherine did
with exercise. Maybe you block out six to seven am
for exercise and eight thirty to ten pm for reading. Now,

(02:33):
of course, not everyone's life allows for this sort of blocking,
though I note that the blocks don't have to be daily.
You could decide that Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are exercise mornings,
Monday at work is the time for long term projects,
and Thursdays are the mornings when you meet with potential
new clients. I'd also note that schedules exist to serve us,

(02:55):
not the other way around. If you get the opportunity
to have lunch with a potent util client or an
old friend, that's probably a good use of time, even
if your official blocks indicate otherwise. But in any case,
there's much to be said for taking the decision making
out of scheduling time and energy not spent deciding it's

(03:16):
time you can devote to the stuff of your job
and the stuff of your life. Do you use time blocking?
You can let me know what your blocks look like
a before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

(03:43):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

(04:05):
out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.