Time blocking
If your to-do list is spiralling out of control you are not on your own!
If your to-do list is actually 101 mini to do lists spread across your diary, your phone notes, your favourite notebook and alas…the back of an envelope…you are definitely in good company!
But how do you actually start to get a hold of your list and regain control of your life!
I have two words for you…Time Blocking!
Today’s blog is a whistle stop tour of the one of the best (generally!) free time management tools at your disposal. Get ready to say goodbye to wasted time and unproductive Tuesday afternoons and Hello you the new ultra-efficient and amazingly orgainsed you!
So What is Time Blocking?
Simply put, time blocking is moving all your to do lists and plans and events into some sort of system! Its not rocket science, its not complicated, but it does require some discipline and finding a method that works for you.
How do I do it?
How do you work at the moment? Are you always out and about? Do you always have your laptop open? Do you feel lost without your phone?
You know how you work. If you are mainly desk bound and your life runs through your lap or desktop, us that. If your car is your office and run your life through your mobile, get ready to reacquaint yourself with your calendar app. If you are all about pen and paper, grab your diary and lets get cracking!
Once you have decided what method is for you, pick a time when you have NOTHING ELSE planned, allocate yourself an hour and get started.
Collect all those mini to do lists and think about when, how and the time you need to allocate to complete each task and add them to your calendar or diary in time blocks.
If you have a large project you need to finish, often working backwards is very helpful. Add your deadline date into your diary and then block out time for the mini tasks that you need to undertake for the larger project to be complete.
Breaking down the ‘big’ tasks into smaller more manageable tasks will always help your planning and final output.
Why Should I do it?
Ok…full disclosure..The first time you do this (perhaps the first 3!) you may well feel like it is actually a waste of your time, you know what you have to do, you know when it needs to be done by after all! But I promise a month in you will start to wonder how you lived without such a tool in your life!
You might think it is too rigid or maybe that *you* need to be more flexible with your time, well you are still in charge, you can always move things about. But the point is to get your tasks down into a system and organise your thoughts and time. Starting to work mindfully is the way to more fruitful business and less stressful work/life balance. Something I think we all strive for as business owners.
Top Tips to Successful Time Blocking
- Give it the time it deserves. Give your initial planning the time and give yourself time to get used to this new way of working. Be disciplined and let it take its course.
- PLAN EVERYTHING! What I mean here is make sure that you plan the ‘time sappers’ that get forgotten about. Travel time, school Run time, time to Eat (!!!), time to go for a walk. Plan it all in there and follow through on that self-care time
- Just get started! The sooner you start, the sooner you will reap the rewards and have extra time on your hands…I promise!
There are so many useful resources online about how people in your industry use the Time Blocking method of planning. Have a read up for more ideas about how it can work for you or if you want some help with getting this started, get in touch with us here at HSL Social and let us book you in for a consultation.