4 Ways Time Blocking Saves Time and Increases Productivity

Are you always busy, but reaching the end of the day wishing there were more hours and feeling like you didn’t get anything done? 

Time blocking is a time management tool.  Basically, you assign tasks to specific hours of the day. 

For example, you could block off an hour, two hours, three hours, or whatever for a specific task, like writing emails, client work, marketing efforts. You can get as specific as blocking off 15-minute intervals.

That’s why I love using time blocking, it’s completely customizable, but we will get into how to set up your schedule later. 

First, let’s dive into the benefits of using time blocking. 

Benefits of Time Blocking: 

1. Time Awareness

Time blocking increases your understanding of how much time tasks actually take you. In the beginning, I recommend allocating more time than you think it will take. Over time you will be able to schedule things more tightly as you become accustomed to how much time all of your daily tasks take. 

2. Eliminates Wasted Time

When you head into your workday with a general idea of the things you need to get done, but no specific schedule to follow, or list of priorities, it can be easy to lose time jumping from one task to the next. 

The time you spend logging into accounts, logging out, and switching mental gears takes up more time and energy than you might realize. 

Not to mention, the moments in between switching tasks might lead you to check your email every hour or endlessly scrolling on social media. 

You can even eliminate task hopping even further my batching like tasks. For example, if you are someone who has multiple clients that you perform similar tasks for like, creating graphics for their social media accounts. 

Instead of spending the day on one client bouncing from different tasks for them, you can block off two hours to knock out creating graphics for all your clients. 

3. Eliminates ‘What’s Next?’

When you start your day with a generic list of to-dos it’s easy to waste a ton of time thinking about what to do next, putting off the worst tasks until the end of the day. You have no clear priorities, which again can lead to wasted time checking email over and over or needlessly scrolling through social media. 

You can prioritize your most important tasks and set aside uninterrupted time to complete them. 

Time blocking has saved me from the dreaded email time suck. Instead of checking my email every 15 minutes, I have time blocked off for checking my email. 

4. Prioritizes Your Most Productive Times

Time blocking can be personalized to fit the times you are naturally more productive. The more you tailor a schedule around your natural productivity, the more time you will save. 

It might take a couple tries, but eventually, you’ll be able to cultivate a schedule that works with your strengths. 

Maybe you’re a morning person, you’re most productive after you work out, or you work best when the ‘hard’ tasks are done first thing in the day. 

Whatever it is, you can create a schedule that works for you instead of against you.

It has taken me a few different time blocking schedules to really find something that works for me, and if I’m being honest, sometimes it changes. 

Time blocking has literally changed the way I work. I’m more productive, and I waste less time. 

What if my schedule is always changing?

I want to note that many of us have schedules that are constantly changing, and scheduling your day minute by minute might not work. But by assigning times to complete tasks can help you stay on task despite any setbacks. You’re less likely to start scrolling on social media when you know it will throw off the rest of your day. 

There are many days that I can’t follow my schedule exactly how I planned, but I still get everything done. Time blocking has increased my productivity as well. 

I hope you are able to take the concept of time blocking and apply it to your life in a way that works for you!

In the future I’ll be sharing a step by step guide to help you set up your own time blocking schedule along with a template. Fow now you can use Google calendar, a planner or a time blocking app like Timebloc. :)

What’s your favorite time management tip? Let me know in the comments!

XO,

Kirstyn

I’m Kirstyn!

The voice behind the LaRee Social blog. I'm a Creative Virtual Assistant & Pinterest Manager with a passion for personal development and helping other entrepreneurs turn their passions into profit.

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