How to Block Time to Be More Productive

Do you find it difficult to bring back your focus and get back to work after being distracted? We all face that problem someday or the other. But we don’t want that to happen to us too often.

It not only kills your time but also kills your productivity and stops you from achieving your goals. In the age of digitalization, getting distracted is so easy.

You’re tempted to check your notifications for a brief moment, but you get lost in it for hours. Suddenly you realize that you have wasted a lot of time and get back to work. But then you get another notification and then another. With each of these notifications, you’re actually getting more and more distracted and less productive.

So what do you do to stop this from happening? The easy answer to this question is to block your time. But what exactly is time blocking, and how does it work?

Let’s find out.

What is Time Blocking?

Time blocking is a time management process in which you divide your time into blocks of time. Each of these blocks is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task.

The idea is to utilize each block of time to focus on one specific task alone. And because you are focusing on one task at a time, you are able to focus on it better. It not only limits distraction but boosts productivity as well.

Now let’s check out how to make time blocking an effective way of being more productive.

1. Create a List and Know Your Priorities

The first thing you need to do is to have a list. In this list, include everything that you want to accomplish during the week.

It can be your personal work, your professional tasks, attending phone calls, responding to emails, working out or yoga sessions, your morning and evening walks, etc.

Now highlight everything that you think is absolutely necessary to be completed, like, important projects, urgent calls, family commitments, etc. Once the list is ready, it's easier to know your priorities.

Everything that’s highlighted needs your full focus and has to be completed within the given timeframe. Now make an estimate of the time you need to get your job done.

2. Block Your Time

The next step is to start blocking your time. So besides every task on your list, start writing down the time in which you want to focus on it.

To make sure that your priorities get the most attention, spread all your important tasks throughout the week instead of one day.

Stick to two or three important tasks per day. This will help you stay focused on every task without too much distraction.

Allot all the most important tasks to your prime slot. Your prime slot is when you feel the most productive. The more productive you are, the better you can perform.

The productive hours for each person can be different. Someone might like working in the morning while others at night. Based on your own timing, start blocking your best time for the most important tasks.

Doing this will help you get more work done. And you’ll always be able to stick to your schedule and prevent yourself from stressing out.

Also, don’t forget to block certain hours of the day for your phone calls, responding to emails, scrolling through social media, etc. This will help you balance out your time and will ensure that everything gets done without any compromise.

3. Print it Out

Now that your time blocking task is done and your blueprint is ready, you need to print it out. Stick it on the wall in front of your table or anywhere you’ll quickly notice. This will remind you of the work at hand and encourage you to stick to the schedule.

Once a job is done, strike it out from your blueprint. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment and encourage you to continue working till all the tasks from the day get completed.

So these are a few ways to block time and be more productive. Now it's your turn to get productive and get more work done by blocking your time. But remember, no matter how much you try, being more productive can’t happen unless you keep your mobile phone aside while you’re at work.