Time Blocking Not Working For You? Try This Easy Productivity Tip Instead
Who doesn’t love a good productivity tip or hack? It’s easy to believe if we find the right app or trick, we’ll magically become more productive and check off the never-ending to-do list. But getting more done in your day is about more than the perfect tip - it’s about understanding your own ideal week and how you work best.
When I started my own business, I had part-time child care for my toddler and no idea how to structure my day. Then I read a few blogs about time blocking and thought I had discovered scheduling magic pixie dust. I mean, who doesn’t love a good system?
Why time blocking didn’t work for me
I quickly discovered a problem with trying to use time blocking for my life. It was actually two problems:
Not-good-enough perfectionism
Life as a work-from-home mom
On Sunday I’d sit down with my Google Calendar and to-do list - dutifully blocking time for things like client work, admin, and content creation. All color-coded and organized, my calendar looked like I had my *ish together.
Then, inevitably, by Tuesday afternoon the calendar and time blocking were totally off the rails with no hope of saving them.
Why? I can safely say that my time-blocking system didn’t work for 3 specific reasons:
I either under or overestimated how much time a task would take.
I did not build in enough time for self-care like lunch or taking a walk.
Family life took priority (i.e. kiddo at home sick or relatives visiting)
Let’s look at each issue to really take a look at why they broke my time blocking system.
01. Not blocking the correct amount of time
While I have gotten better about estimating how much time a particular task will take, I’m inevitably an optimist about what I can accomplish.
I’d block an hour to write a new blog, then realize at 2 hours in I still wasn’t finished. That extra hour would cut into the next block of time for something else that was also important - and the spiral of never being done would set in.
On the other end of the spectrum, I would sometimes block too long for a task, finish early, then spend time in a click-hole of social media or Inbox purgatory. Then I’d look up from whatever I was distracted with and feel tired and aimless. Not the best way to launch into the next time block.
Either way, I’d feel like I was behind and couldn’t catch up, or half brain dead spending energy on “the scroll.”
02. No time for self-care
It’s taken me over 7 years in business and 2 kids later to realize the true importance of self-care. Every entrepreneur mom thinks they can do it all (and we can) - but you will go farther for longer if you make sure you’re taking care of yourself.
When I tried time blocking, I’d make a half-hearted effort to block 30 minutes for lunch - thinking I couldn’t afford more with only part-time daycare.
Guess what would happen?
The time block that I thought would take 1 hour actually took over my lunch and then I’d bump into a scheduled client call. By the time I looked up again, it’d be time to pick up kiddos and I’d have eaten coffee and a cheese snack all day. Not good.
About 3 years into my business I also discovered the connection between my gut health and emotional health.
On the days where I had barely anything to eat, I’d notice by about 3 pm that it felt like the sky was falling. I’d sink into wondering what the heck I was doing, why I was bothering with trying to be wealthy and profitable and happy, and the comparisonitis would take over.
Then I’d step away from my desk, have something to eat, drink some water, and magically everything didn’t seem so dire anymore.
On the days where I actually took care of my nutrition and hydration, those anxious and depressing thoughts never took hold or spiraled out of control.
Now, self-care is built into every day and is non-negotiable. I reserve time in the morning for meditation and journaling, breaks throughout the day to stretch and go outside, and nutrition and hydration are pre-planned and a priority.
The lesson I’ve learned is the better I take care of myself, the more productive I am.
03. Unexpected family priorities
The best, most important reason I started my own business was to be able to put my family first and prioritize accordingly.
But balancing client work, content creation, and the monkey wrench of having a sick kiddo that’s home or family that’s coming to visit (because they don’t think you actually do anything) can be disastrous at worst - frustrating at best.
All it takes is one day that you end up not being able to work to throw off your entire week. It’s easy to feel like the world is on your shoulders when your to-do list isn’t getting checked off and client emails are staring at you from your inbox.
How I created my Ideal Work Week instead of time-blocking
When I realized that time blocking wasn’t working for me, I knew I needed to find a system that would provide me with structure, but be flexible for life inevitably getting in the way.
Now, I “theme” my days according to the different categories of work I do in my business.
Here are my current theme days:
Content Creation
Marketing
Client Work
Admin
CEO/Financial
Within these themes I have different subcategories of specific types of work I do. And they’re color-coded because that makes me happy.
I have just enough structure to help me focus and plan my week, with the built-in flexibility to pivot my plans as needed.
I also love that since I created my Ideal Work Week in the spreadsheet format, I can redo and tweak as necessary. And we all know that schedules can change overnight.
When it’s a good idea to redo your Ideal Work Week:
New Year
New season (like summer schedules or slowing down over the holidays)
New school year
New clients/products
Anytime your current one isn’t working anymore
How to set up flexible theme days for your Ideal Work Week
Step 1: Be Realistic
Start with being realistic about the time you really have to work and making sure your own time and family time are taken care of first.
By blocking off the times you are unavailable to work (i.e. sleeping, school dropoffs and pickups) — you can see at a glance if you can fit certain tasks into your day or take on a new project.
For example, Fridays are half-days for me because my oldest has a weekly horse camp right after lunch. I know trying to fit in lots of client work or content creation is not the best fit for a half-day, but tracking my metrics and doing my budget are smaller tasks that help me feel like my week is completed.
Step 2: Group Tasks into Themes
Similarly, I know that I love starting my week with my own content creation for my business. I love blogging, writing emails, and working on my sales funnels. When I make sure to prioritize my creation time, it sets me up for feeling like I’ve accomplished something important first.
So now Mondays and Fridays are set for themes, with a whole bunch of different options for what I can do with that time.
The rest of the week is flexible for working on clients, products, and marketing.
Step 3: Brain Dump
Then it’s time to brain dump all those to-dos and half-done projects out of your head. Whether it’s personal, work, products, or clients — just get it all out.
Don’t worry about categorizing here. Stream of consciousness is the best way to see everything you have on your plate.
Step 4: Sift and Sort
After your long list is out of your head and onto paper (or digital if you prefer), then start grouping your tasks by themes. I love a good highlighter color coding for this part.
By grouping my tasks into their proper theme days, I can stay in mostly one headspace at a time. This means less “context switching” for my already overloaded brain, and more clarity and focus on the tasks at hand.
Conclusion
Time blocking can feel restrictive and never-good-enough for Type-A perfectionist entrepreneurs (like me, and maybe you?). By learning how to create my Ideal Work Week with theme days and sorting my tasks, I’ve become more productive and my days feel like they flow in an easy way.
