How to Stop Multi-Tasking + Start Time Blocking
Time blocking is something I have talked about a lot because it is a technique that has worked so well for me in juggling the many hats that I wear in a typical day. We all are more than just one thing - we have many titles and many responsibilities that fight for our attention as we go about our lives.
You may have also heard in recent years how multi-tasking is no longer considered a “good” trait. That comes from the more recent push to be present and focused in all that we do. No more task switching and paying attention to ten different things at once. They say doing so leads to mistakes and the inability to give one task your all.
Time blocking requires you to sit and get it all out there! Anything and everything you do, and want to spend time on!
So what is time blocking? Time blocking simply is setting aside a block of time to be devoted to one task or category of tasks. You can use time blocking in your personal and professional life and you can be as regimented or as lax as you want to be with it - meaning you can time block every last hour of your day M-F or you can time block just your morning, evenings, weekends, whatever suits!
Why do people time block? Time blocking is helpful because it kind of makes you “wait” for that time block to take care of what tasks fall within it rather than sabotaging another block of time that was SUPPOSED to be for something else. It also helps you “move on” from something when the time is right to do so, AKA not obsess over something!
Example here: I have a “household admin” timeblock that I dedicate to answering emails, making calls, scheduling appointments, researching things online - that sort of stuff. I try very hard to honor this time block so that I don’t get sucked into doing these things when it is SUPPOSED to be my work time block (when working from home, that is).
To get started with time blocking, I suggest doing a time audit. Take your week and write down all that occurs in your typical day. Then, add on all the things you wanted to occur within a given day that you thought you didn’t have time for (like post dinner clean up or reading time).
Then, create your time block categories out of all that you do. Say you spend a lot of time picking up the house or organizing spots in your home, create a “household projects” time block. Then, look at all the definites in your calendar and begin to add your time blocks around those definites. Meaning if you work 9am-5pm Monday through Friday, add a time block first thing in the morning, during your lunch hour, r after the kids go to bed.
Don’t overwhelm yourself with this - it is meant to help you add more time to your life, not less! Need help creating time blocks in your schedule? Seriously, call me! I will help you do this and you’ll feel good about how you spend afterward. From a fellow time blocker, I promise!