Are you fairly disciplined, thriving on order and organization or are you the laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of person? Either way, do you find that by the end of the day, you’re bummed out that you did not complete the ONE THING that HAD to be done today?

As Hugo said, “where no plan is laid,…chaos will soon reign.”

If you need a change-up when it comes to planning your day and completing your to-do list, Time Blocking may be the answer.

Time Blocking is a productivity technique. To keep it simple, take a period of time and divide it into smaller segments or blocks.

Time blocking is designed for focus and productivity: redirecting you from the distractions to what you are meant to be focused on.

FIRST

You must identify the categories in your life!

It will look different for everyone because it depends on your life’s dynamic.

Here are some examples of Life Categories that will determine your Time Blocks:

  • Work
  • Family
  • Health
  • Social
NEXT

Write down the to-do lists for each category. Example:

Work-

  • Major projects
  • Expense Reports
  • Emails

Family-

  • Together time
  • Meals
  • Errands

Health-

  • Exercise
  • Doctor’s appointments
  • Mental or Spiritual

LAST

Move the tasks into blocks such as:

  • Morning routine (breakfast, shower, get the kids ready for school)
  • Deep or Meaningful Work (Major projects, deadlines, Mental health input (devotional, inspirational reading, journaling)
  • Daily work (Small to-do’s, regularly occurring, for example, dishes, pet care etc…)
  • Buffers and breaks (transition

MORE TO CONSIDER

  • Heavy tasks
  • Light tasks
  • Reactive time
  • Accessible to others time

Overestimate your time blocks until you have an understanding of how long each task actually takes.

Then, prioritize…take a step back and evaluate what is time-sensitive and what is life-sensitive.