Help CenterTime blocking is a way to chunk our tasks based on the capacity and focus they’ll require and deadlines for completion.
Our time and capacity to focus are limited. We can learn to be strategic about how we use these resources to set ourselves up for success. That begins with
Taking Stock
Taking stock of
- our commitments and
- the amount of focus and energy they require to be completed with the quality necessary,
and when they are due to inform prioritizing.
Optimizing Time & Performance
Then, we determine
- the amount of time needed to complete each task,
- availability each day to complete tasks,
- and the times of the day when our performance tends to be low, average, or at our peak potential.
Reasonable Expectations
Attend to what is reasonable to expect yourself to accomplish in a given period of time, in a single day. Respecting our basic needs for adequate sleep, eating, physical activity, fun, leisure, etc. is necessary for resilience on the way to achieving big things.
- Long-term success requires integrating self-care activities into the mix as top priority tasks.
Scheduling
Then, choose a scheduling platform (e.g., digital calendar or physical planner) and do what's in our power to schedule more complex/high priority tasks during peak performance times and simpler tasks during lower performance times.
Using color coding to distinguish task types in a calendar or planner helps our brain to quickly categorize things as we’re scanning through what we need to get done.
If you need help with deciding priority levels, check out the Eisenhower Matrix.
Image credit: Pfeifer, 2018