I spent three years using ‘time blocking’ to manage my time
It changed my life. Here’s my step-by-step guide to using time blocking to change yours.
“How do I make time for what matters most?”
I get asked this question in some form every single week. This is hardly surprising, seeing as most of us (over 80%, according to research) report feeling ‘time poor’. Time poverty is defined as ‘the chronic feeling of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them’.
And that’s just the stuff we already have on our ‘to-do’ lists — we haven’t even got to the stuff that we’d like to be doing more of. You know, spending time with our loved ones, looking after our minds and our bodies, being creative, pursuing hobbies, pursuing dreams (remember them?), having fun or — dare we even whisper it? — rest.
We live in a culture which glorifies ‘busyness’ and ‘productivity’ — and yet there’s compelling evidence that feeling time-poor can impact our mental health, our relationships, our creativity and our work performance.
But you don’t need me to quote research at you. You’re living it and feeling it every day.
So, what to do?
A quick Google for ‘productivity hacks’ will, at the time of writing, find you 20.3 million results (yes, really). Great! Productivity has just become another thing to add to your never-finished ‘to-do’ list…
But here’s the thing. Productivity is only one, small part of making time for the things that are important to you. There’s so much more going on here beneath the surface. Beliefs. Stories you’re telling yourself. Resistance (yes, I see you). Not knowing what you, really, truly want. Not daring to find out. Boundaries (or, rather, lack of them).
Our experience of being time-poor is an inevitable consequence of what’s going on in our inner world.
Our experience of being time-poor is an inevitable consequence of what’s going on in our inner world.
Productivity hacks, by and large, are concerned with the outer world. Using productivity hacks to create time for ourselves is rather like sticking a Batman plaster on a…hmmmm, I can’t use the analogy I’d like to, because it’s too gruesome. It’s like….putting up a beach shelter in a tornado. Or mowing the lawn while your house is on fire. Or…ok. You get the idea.
One hack that isn’t a hack
So again, what to do? Well, all those beliefs and stories can be unpicked. You can learn to visualise what you really, truly want. You can improve your boundary-setting skills. It’s all completely doable.
And there is one productivity ‘hack’ which will help you.
Wait, didn’t I just say that productivity hacks don’t work?
Well, yes. But you see, this ‘hack’ is only masquerading as a hack. You’ll find it, often, in those 20.3 million articles on Google. You may have already tried it. But the real magic lies not in its use as a ‘hack’, but in its practise.
As a practice, it will teach you more about yourself than you could ever have imagined.
You’ll learn where you want to spend your time. You’ll learn where you’re actually spending your time (you might think you know this already. You don’t.) You’ll learn where you can already set boundaries, and how that can help you to set boundaries elsewhere. You’ll learn that every time you spend your time, you’re making a choice. And that not making a choice is a choice in itself.
Every time you spend your time, you’re making a choice. And not making a choice is a choice in itself.
And slowly, surely, it will transform your life, one block at a time.
Time blocking.
A practice.
Start your practice
Book 10–30 minutes into your diary right now. Time you can spend uninterrupted (sitting at home, walking in the woods, whatever works for you).
When the time comes, let’s play.
Start by taking some deep breaths — the deepest you’ve taken all day. As you inhale, breathe in a childlike, playful imagination. As you exhale, let go of logic, responsibility, and your inner critic — they can take the next 10–30 minutes off.
Now, imagine that you can spend your time in any way you’d like. What would your ideal day look like? Your ideal week? Month? Year?
If your inner critic starts piping up — telling you how impossible this all is — gently remind them that they’ve got some time off. You’re playing. It’s ok for you to play.
Would you work? What would you love that work to feel like? When would you work? Every day? Half days? Half the year? What would you spend your time doing when you’re not working? Who would you see? When would you rest? When would you be alone and what would you do? How would it feel to spend your time like this?
What kind of person would you be?
Enjoy the dream. (Don’t show it to your inner critic). Keep it handy for Part Two.
In the comments, share something about how you’d really like to spend your time. Was there anything that surprised you? Was there something that you’ve never told another soul? Was there something that you never told yourself? There is power in writing and sharing…
