I Blocked My Calendar for Six Days in 2022 — Here are the Results
Calendar Blocking hacked.
Keeping track of your to-do list isn’t always easy. Meetings, emails, emergencies, phone calls, and social media can get in the way.
Does that sound familiar?
As a result, I decided to block my calendar accordingly so I could complete 15 hours a day for six days.
My interest in ‘time blocking your calendar’ was piqued after reading various blogs and videos on Medium.
One of the great reads I could mention here is about Cal Newport in his book Deep Work, Elon Musk on being super-efficient while managing multiple companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and Bill Gates.
Focus and productivity can be increased by time blocking. Using this method, one task can be focused on at a time. The day will be less distracting if you minimize distractions.
‘It generates a massive amount of productivity. A 40-hour time-blocked work week, I estimate, produces the same amount of output as a 60+ hour work week pursued without a structure’ — Cal Newport
I have been a massive fan of creating multiple checklists as my to-do lists and have been using the Things 3 app for many years. It works pretty well, but the only challenge I faced was procrastinating with the listed activities I had to achieve, and then I kept postponing these tasks for future dates.
On the contrary, time blocking has worked for me what the Pomodoro technique does for most folks who swear by productivity. This way, I can focus on one task at a time until it gets completed.
Let me share the process I follow that helps me complete my projects on time with actionable results.
- I jot down all my tasks and activities in my to-do list app — Things 3, in a folder I have created named ‘Inbox.’ You may use a simple pen and paper also for this purpose.
- I do my weekly planning every Sunday, look into these tasks, prioritize them using the ‘Most Important Tasks’ or MIT technique and use the Eisenhower Matrix to decide on my most important tasks.
- Once MITs are determined, these tasks are further assigned to the related projects with further sub-tasks or activities.
- All my most important tasks are scheduled on my calendar based on the estimated time I will take for completion.
- Any tasks that take less than 15 minutes are retained in my to-do list, like sending emails, quick calls to clients, etc.
Please sign-up to get all my upcoming stories directly to your inbox.
What I learned from Time Blocking.
Focusing on one thing at a time was enjoyable for me.
- I did not multitask.
- I didn’t get my phone.
- I didn’t watch television.
- No social media.
Instead, I got my work done. You can’t stay focused when you have to do several things simultaneously. Blocking time helps prevent this.
My productivity has been growing significantly since I begin my schedule by blocking out time. Additionally, I can get my daily tasks done on time and find time to relax and write.
I still need to tweak my above time blocking calendar and allocate time daily to reply to the emails I receive from my subscribers from Medium and youtube.
Time blocking may seem to be a static practice you do every day or every week.
However, that’s not entirely true.
- I adjust my schedule if I need to finish that one deadline I’m working on.
- Then, once I change my schedule, I move the things I’ve planned for that day and make a new schedule. This is because the more I don’t know the length of a task, and I like to design in buffers.
So, in a nutshell,
I found time blocking to be a great efficiency hack that keeps me on the top of my plan and helps me get things done! If you plan to extend your efficiency, you ought to attempt this technique.
More related stories on productivity & time management.
Feel free to become a member for full access to my content — and the entire Medium library! In addition, I’ll earn a small commission if you sign up through my link. Thank you for supporting my work!