Welcome back! We hope that you enjoyed learning exactly what time blocking is yesterday and how it can benefit your workday. If you finished reading and are thinking about implementing this technique but don’t know exactly where to start. we’ve got you covered! Keep reading here to find out the 5 steps we’ve identified to set you up to time block starting today…

5 Steps to Implement Time Blocking

1. Prioritize

Step one is absolutely to prioritize your most and least pressing obligations to the day and week. Do you have a project due? Is an assignment deadline approaching? Is someone awaiting a reply or feedback from you? Mapping out and writing down a few of your priorities and listing them out until reaching your least pressing matters is a perfect place to begin.

1. Map it out

Once you’ve identified all of the obligations of your day or week and listed them in order of importance, it’s time to start mapping it out! We encourage you to break off the day in 30 minute or hour blocks so as to leave yourself enough time to create meaningful outcomes and progress. We also suggest this: what if you spend an hour straight at the beginning of the day simply catching up? Replying to clients or emails instead of spacing it out and consistently distracting yourself? Creatively using the morning as an outlet to brainstorm new ideas or future endeavors? Think about the times of day in which you find most productive to optimize this step.

1. Incorporate repetition, second blocks, and leave time for breaks!

If there are certain obligations that you know you must revisit in a day (think big projects or assignments that require much more than one hour), then make sure to repeat these blocks, add in additional time frames, and otherwise “double block.” Also, remember that you’re only human! Leave yourself time for kids, personal relaxation, lunch, exercise, breaks, or other obligations that suit YOU and not just your job.

1. Implement

Now you’re ready to implement! Whether you’ve mapped and blocked on a sheet of physical paper or have stored this schedule online, you’re ready to go. Keep your time blocking resources near you to reference it throughout the day and make sure you’re staying on track and keeping accountable.

1. Ongoing tweaks to perfect!

Also remember, nothing is perfect on the first try! Your schedule will absolutely require updates and new obligations integrate into your work day. Your schedule should be viewed as an ongoing tool and time management metric and should not be a fixed resource. Change it up, lengthen blocks, add in new steps, and make it your own! The more confident you are and the more you edit this schedule to perfection, the better it will work in the long run.

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