What Is Time Blocking And What Are The Pros And Cons Of Using This Method?
In a word, time or dividing time into small blocks or parts is time blocking. That is, time blocking means dividing the entire day into small chunks, planning tasks around those chunks.
What Is Time Blocking And What Are The Pros And Cons Of Using This Method?
Time blocking is the practice of using a specific part of the day for a specific task or for different tasks of the same type.
We all have a bit of the concept of time blocking. Ever since people started using calendars, time blocking has been used in their work.
If we talk about the Bronze Age calendar, there too the crop cultivation dates were fixed. The farmer could harvest the crop at the right time without any loss.
Time blocking at the individual level is, however, a new concept. This method of time management has become popular not too long ago.
If you want to start time blocking, this method should be well thought out. At the same time, it should be understood for which type of people this method works best and what are its pros and cons.
To-Do Lists Can Be Used Effectively In This Way
Many of us work with to-do lists to get things done easily. Time blocking does exactly what a to-do list can’t.
Time blocking tells you when to do a task. At first it may seem that this method may not work well. But the truth is, if you divide the calendar into different parts, it is possible to work with more focus. Doing so will prevent others from wasting your valuable time.
Another thing is, with time blocking you start each day with a specific task to complete. It’s much more productive than starting the day with a long to-do list in hand.
For Whom This Method Is Most Effective
If there are many meetings in the day and you have to meet with different types of people, time blocking will not help much in maintaining focus and concentration.
On the other hand, if you have a lot of time on your hands, time blocking will help you increase your productivity.
British historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson begins one of his essays on work by saying that “work occupies the time available for completion.” This famous quote later became known as ‘Parkinson’s Law’ or ‘Parkinson’s Law’. This article, published in 1955 in The Economist, has since been published several times online.
So time blocking can help you gain control over your time and plan your work strategically.
You May Consider Time Blocking If:
• You often multitask, i.e. do many things at once
• If you have trouble concentrating on a task
• If your attention is diverted during work
• You have many meetings throughout the day, and you can’t concentrate on important things
• You want to spend as much time and energy as you want while working
• Want to have a clear idea of how you spend your entire day
• Excessive workload is causing problems for you
• As part of the job you have to handle a variety of responsibilities and projects
• You want to achieve more in life and increase your productivity
How To Properly Block Time
Time blocking may not work for everyone. But if you can trust this approach, time blocking may work for you. And that’s why time blocking should be done properly. And for that let’s know some suggestions:
1. Separate The Most Urgent Tasks
Make a daily to-do list and list the tasks that you must complete. Then prioritize the tasks. Now set aside time at the beginning of the day for the most important and urgent task.
2. Avoid Looking At The Clock
Work when you are most productive. And plan your day’s work in such a way that you can make the most of your most productive time.
It actually depends on your ‘circadian rhythm’. The ‘circadian rhythm’ or circadian cycle is a natural internal mechanism of the human body that regulates the sleep and wake cycles. The cycle starts anew every 24 hours.
Basically in any animal this cycle can work according to the surrounding environment. So notice what time of day your body is most ready to work. And try to use that time well.
3. Fix Different Themes Or Key Tasks For Different Days Of The Week
For example, Monday is set aside only for recruiting work, Tuesday is set aside for meetings and Wednesday is fixed for working on creative projects.
4. Make Time For Breaks And Rest
Always leave a free time in your work schedule. During this time you will do idle activities like meditation, going for a walk outside or looking out the window. These times will help you adjust yourself to the work schedule.
5. Set Boundaries, But Be Flexible About Them
No matter how hard you try, unexpected things happen in life. So keep some time in the day for all such unexpected tasks.
6. Set Aside Some Time For Your Favorite Activities
Spend some time with your family or take care of yourself. Apart from this, it is also necessary to keep time for administrative work or creative work in the office.
7. Keep Track Of Your Time Blocks On A Calendar
Having a good quality calendar app is essential to block time properly. This allows you to keep track of whether the shared hours are being used properly. At the same time, you can stay away from the trouble of falling into another job in one job.
Time Vlocking Facility
Proper time blocking works well. Apart from saving time, it also helps in prioritizing tasks. Let’s know some benefits of time blocking:
1. Necessary Tasks Come To The Fore
One of the biggest benefits of time blocking is that it makes it clear to you which tasks you want to prioritize. Honestly, if you can work on the to-do list, there is not much problem. But time cannot be kept in it.
Sometimes it takes too much time to do any work. But it can be seen that he did not think it would take so much time before starting work. In this way the list of tasks becomes so large that it may seem that this list can never be completed.
2. Time Blocking Can Be Used Instead Of To-Do Lists
New York Times bestselling author Kevin Cruz once interviewed 200 billionaires. Among them were Olympic medalists, university toppers and successful entrepreneurs.
In all of them he found a match. That is, such highly productive people never work on a to-do list. They work according to their calendar or time.
Research also shows that 41% of tasks on the to-do list are never completed. We usually remember the tasks we have completed, and forget the ones we cannot complete.
And when we worry about the to-do list, we become restless. Sometimes this can lead to long-term insomnia.
3. Reduces Perfectionism And Procrastination
Procrastination and perfectionism are two of the biggest problems in time management.
But you can deal with both these problems by time blocking. And in the time block method, a big task can be divided into small parts, so it is easier to do the work.
Disadvantages Of Time Blocking
Time blocking doesn’t work for everyone. In some cases time blocking is rather inconvenient. Finally, let’s look at some of the disadvantages of time blocking:
1. It Takes A Lot Of Time To Implement The Time Blocking Method
Time blocking takes time, there is no alternative. Time blocking requires you to work hard and put in the time. And the more you go about doing the job perfectly, the more your fatigue and stress will increase.
2. Our Assumptions About Time Are Wrong
Most people think they will do a lot of work throughout the day. But it can’t. Then they think they won’t get much done in a month.
But actually a lot of work can be done in a month. Thus we make mistakes in estimating the working hours. Sometimes I guess less, sometimes more. Even those who think they have good judgment in this matter are often mistaken.
3. Does Not Allow Work Flow To Be Maintained
Let’s say you decide to write for an hour. That’s why he set aside one hour of daily routine for writing. But it turns out that after an hour of writing, you want to write more because you’ve gotten into a flow.
Now if you want to stick to the work routine, you have to stop writing. Or you have to continue writing in another block of time, when you were supposed to be doing something else.
