Could Time-Blocking Replace Your To-Do List? #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published last year:

Today's blog post is based on an article on get pocket.com.

A few years ago, my to-do list was an endless source of frustration. At the end of every day, it seemed like it had more items on it than when I started. I never seemed to get it all done. 

So, in an effort to understand what was going on, I began to track how I was spending my time and saw some interesting patterns emerge. As I learned more, I started applying a productivity-changing principle to my daily “get it done” list: time-blocking. 

All that is interesting, but what is time-blocking?

Time-blocking is essentially organizing your day in a series of time slots. Instead of writing a list of tasks that take as long as they take, with a time-blocked approach, each of these time periods is devoted to a task or tasks. It immediately lets you see where you’re being unrealistic about your time and keep yourself focused on what you’re supposed to be doing. 

If I can remember that far back, The 12 Week Year featured time-blocking.

Giving every hour a job typically lets you make much more efficient use of your time, says Georgetown University professor Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. “This follows because it allows you to schedule work for the time where it makes the most sense—batching together small things, tackling hard things when you have the long stretches to make progress, and so on. The other advantage is that it provides you more accurate feedback on how much free time you actually have most days and how long certain recurring tasks actually take,” he says.

 Why should we time-block?

Organizing your day through time blocks instead of to-dos makes sense because of the discipline and order it applies to your tasks, says time management expert Kevin Kruse, author of 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management. Research by productivity blog I Done This found that 41% of to-do list items are never completed. In Kruse’s own research he says the high-performers he interviewed never talked about their “to-do lists,” but instead talked about their calendars and how they were organized. 

I've written about using your calendar instead of a to-do list here.

Organizing your time instead of your tasks also has psychological benefits, Kruse says. There is also a psychological reason why time-blocking makes more sense. In what is known as the Zeigarnik effect, which basically states that we remember what we haven’t done better than what we have done, and uncompleted tasks weigh on us. “This can lead to stress and insomnia. However, when we have all of our tasks placed into a specific date, time, and duration, we sleep more soundly knowing everything that needs to get done is in its place,” Kruse says. 

So, if you’re ready to give it a shot, pull out your calendar and keep these tips in mind.

• Pay Attention to Cycles
• Allot Enough Time
• Offload Distractions
• Make It Flexible

Be sure to read the article, to find out more about these tips.

Interesting days

Today -  International Dance Day, We Jump The World Day, World Wish Day and Zipper Day

Tomorrow -  Hairball Awareness Day, Honesty Day, Oatmeal Cookie Day and International Jazz Day

Week long celebrations:

Apr 25 - May 1: Go Diaper Free Week

Next Thursday - No Diet Day, Password Day, Beverage Day and No Homework Day

Week long celebrations:

May 3 - May 9: Lawyer Well-Being Week 

May 6 - May 12: Nurse’s Week

May 29 - Biscuit Day, Paper Clip Day, Put A Pillow On Your Fridge Day and Learn About Composting Day

Week long celebrations:

May 16 - May 29: Heritage Breeds Week

May 16 - May 29: Italian Beef Week

May 24 - May 30: Map Reading Week