Managing time is something that everyone is facing and struggling with. It's very complicated to use time effectively if you don't have scheduled your different tasks and allotted certain time for each one. That solution has a name, and the name is time blocking. If you want a happy and productive workplace, don't let time management overcome your goals.
You need to balance the busy work with focused time for the urgent things. Maybe some tasks required less time, and others much more time and work. We need to set up strategies to help us focus on specific tasks. There are too many distractions that prevent us from being productive. Here is when time blocking comes in.
Essentially, the time strategy of ¨time blocking¨ means scheduling periods of time where you work on specific tasks. Time blocking simply means setting specific periods or time slots for certain tasks and sticking to them until they are complete or until the next time block.That's how you take back control of your workday and boost productivity. To do these efficiently, you need to know what you will be working on every week and make a rough schedule of your time blocks for each day. With these, you wont have to constantly make choices about what to focus on. You only need to follow your time blocked schedule. Focusing on specific tasks it's easier.
If one day you finish a task earlier, a time block can be really helpful to adjust your schedule and take on new ones. The main goal with this is to don't get distracted, lose focus or try to do something for too long. By following time blocks, you'll get more done with less effort and boosting productivity.
Traditional time management techniques stand for the same as time blocking, boosting productivity. However, with traditional time management techniques you will need different methods to achieve productivity, however by using time blocking, you achieve those goals using just that.
Setting a time block for each task, means setting up short term goals. Its scientifically proven that by accomplishing little steps and achieving little goals, you boost productivity and encourage you to do more.
However if you simply write down what you are doing today without assigning time slots, you won't notice the amount of time you allot to each one. Without realizing, you will give much more time to a specific task, making you feel tired earlier, stress out, and thus, being less productive.
It's easy to get distracted at work, because we are surrounded by mobile phones, social media, and advertisements. We are constantly being interrupted by this, making us lose track of what we are working on. As well as, working on multiple tasks simultaneously isn't helping us either.
This is where time blocking can make a difference in your work life. Its not about needing more time, its about learning wisely how to use the same amount of time so you can boost your productivity
Let 's get into this!
When you schedule your time on different specific tasks, unconsciously you pour your soul and attention into finishing it rather than spreading your attention in several tasks. The more you pay attention to a single task, the more you will boost your productivity.
Time blocking allows you to concentrate on a single task and minimize distractions, and consequently, avoid mistakes. Another way of getting rid of distractions is to avoid multitasking. We are not used to keeping up simultaneously with different tasks. If you don't give yourself the appropriate amount of time to work on each of these tasks, you will switch between all them, without being really productive.
Time blocking helps you focus. When you plan your day into time blocks you commit a hundred percent into carrying out tasks at a specific time. Your mind stops thinking about other tasks, and you focus on the task you are doing.
Learning to prioritize your tasks thanks to giving the appropriate amount of time to each one allows you to focus deeply, you ll gain a sense of control over your schedule and work life. Eventually, this will help you feel more control over what you are doing, and reduce stress.
How much time we will spend working on a specific task is hard to estimate. We have a tendency of overcommitting our future selves. Time blocking forces you to carry top priorities and commitments, and put your feet in the ground about how to spend your time effectively.
Time blocking your week gives you a sense of clarity and relaxation, because you know that, as long as you follow the schedule, you will get everything done on time. you will not feel stressed out, nor overwhelmed by your work. This will give you enough clarity to deal with important tasks, and encourage you to be productive.
People burn out of their jobs because they work until late hours, stressing over deadlines, and being late to have lunch or don't plan their breaks. Time blocking allows you to plan your day, even your time breaks and prevents stressing out, clearing your mind. It's vital to time block on positive life habits, such as exercising, meditation, reading… By blocking out time for these events, you make sure you have time for them.
Ask yourself: What are the repetitive tasks you do every week? Make a list of those, and prioritize them based on the importance, and urgency.
Estimate how much time you spend on doing each task. Specified how much time is normally used productively and which time is wasted.
After taking an approach to all the tasks, we should have a special treat to the deep tasks, as well as the shallow tasks. The time dedicated to each one will not be the same. Deep tasks require more time, focus and attention, so the time slots may depend during the day from the shallow tasks as well as the amount of time devoted to.
People need breaks to clarify their minds and work more efficiently. This time will encourage workers to keep going and get back to work with more energy, especially for those tasks which require more attention. Regular blocks during the day keeps your mind healthy and ready for new challenges, and helps you get through your tasks and goals more effectively. On the other hand, missing this time breaks, may result in fatigue, anxiety, losing productivity and efficiency. On your time block, don't forget dedicating time to yourself to care for your personal needs and keeping your mind healthy and working.
You may have an idea of what you are going to deal with in one week, but meetings, sudden-urgent tasks, or challenges may appear on the route. You have to be able to fix your time slot, and incorporate these new tasks into your time block. To be able to carry out this steps correctly, you should check on step 2, in order to know unequivocally the time duration of each task, and the time left that we could use for these new tasks to complete it.
Check out your time blocking plan. Now, it's time to ask yourself, does it exceed your working hours? Check out the number of tasks you plan for the week, and keep it realistic. Write down the many challenges you may encounter along the way in order to make adjustments accordingly.Let yourself learn through mistakes. If your work changes depending on the season, or time of the year, keep that in mind, you may need to do more reviews of your process.
The main goal of time blocking is boosting productivity, and keeping a healthy mind. Productivity means working faster but with the same quality or even more. Uphint proposes to you a formula to get exactly that. Documenting any workflow and turning it into step-by-step guides 93% faster, make the way much easier.
Check out here how it's done by one example.
Time blocking is a time management technique that at first you may think ¨No way is going to boost productivity by just doing that¨ but the results may surprise you a lot. Assigning specific time to each task, let you focus on one single task and that will level up your work.
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