77. How to Use Time Blocking for Better Focus and Productivity
Episode 77
Time-blocking is a powerful yet misunderstood productivity strategy. It’s more than just putting tasks on your calendar and color-coding your agenda. (It’s actually not about that at ALL.) Instead, it’s a way to focus better, make intentional progress, and stop reacting to your day.
In this episode, I walk you through the essentials of time-blocking for both students and professionals. You’ll learn how to set it up, when to use it, and how to avoid common mistakes that derail most people.
I also share real-life examples of what a time-blocked day might look like, so you can build a version that works for your actual life — attention span and all.
What You’ll Learn:
What time-blocking is (and what people get wrong about it)
How to use it as a student, professional, or anyone who wants to stay focused
Real-world examples of how to build a time-blocked day
Why time-blocking can feel hard — and how to make it easier
Three big mistakes that ruin most people’s time-blocking attempts (and how to fix them)
🎙️Other Episodes + Resources Mentioned:
Episode 3 – How to Use Admin Blocks
Episode 10 – Focus Tips (Q&A)
Episode 24 – How to Focus Better: Tips for School, Work and ADHD
Episode 43 – How to Focus When Working from Home
Episode 55 – Body Doubling for ADHD and Focus
Episode 76 - Digital Calendar Strategies
✏️Get my FREE parent training: How to Help Your Student Handle School Like a Pro — Without Study Frustration, Assignment Overwhelm, or All the Drama (If you’re the parent of a high school or college student, this training is for you.)
-
The following transcript was autogenerated and may contain some interesting and silly errors. But in the name of efficiency and productivity, I am choosing not to spend my time fixing them 😉
77 How to Use Time-Blocking for Better Focus and Productivity===
[00:00:00] Well, hello, we're back again with episode 77 of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast. I'm Katie, and today we're talking about time blocking. Now, this is something that I have referenced so many times on the show before, but it occurred to me recently that I don't have an episode dedicated exclusively to this topic.
I actually didn't believe that I had to go through my previous 76 episodes to confirm that's true, but alas. It is true. So here we are. You may have heard of time blocking before, but not fully know what it means. Maybe you are already doing it, but you're curious about, you know, how to optimize your approach.
You might be a student wondering how this might work for you, or you could be a professional thinking, yes, this is something that I need to try so that I can uplevel my focus and productivity. Because at the end of the day, that is the goal of time blocking. It can improve our ability to focus on a task to reduce our distractions while we're working on that task.
[00:01:00] And it can improve our productivity, not in the sense that we get more done, 'cause that's not, you know, necessarily how I like to define productivity, but rather we're more intentional about working on the right things and putting blinders on to all of the rest.
So here is what we're gonna cover today: what time blocking is, why time blocking matters, and is something that you might wanna add to your tool kit.
Some high level strategies for implementing time blocking, and then some common mistakes to avoid.
So I am going to cover the big picture and give you some actionable strategies to try. Of course, that's the entire point of this show, but just know that I teach the full step-by-step process inside SchoolHabits University for those who really want to master it.
Throughout this episode, I'm gonna reference some other resources, like previous episodes that can help you dive deeper into some of the things that you know, come up today and you can find all the links and resources I mention [00:02:00] in the show notes. If you are watching this on YouTube, you can get it, um, in the description box.
You can head to learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/77 and you'll be able to access everything I mentioned today including a free download template that I'll talk about later in the episode. Alright, my friends, we should begin.
All right, beginning with a simple definition of time blocking, Time blocking is when we intentionally set aside a specific time in our day with a clear starting and ending point during which we work on a single task. The work session [00:03:00] is planned ahead of time. It is blocked off on your calendar as if it's a meeting, and you've given good thought to what it is that you're gonna work on during that session.
Now the absolute opposite of time blocking is what most of us do. Most of us sit down at our desks to work or study, and we ask ourselves like, okay, what am I gonna do? And we kind of putz around in our email inbox or our project management tool looking for something to grab our attention or looking for something that doesn't feel too hard.
We might open our student portal like Google Classroom or Canvas, and ask ourselves, what do I feel like working on? And there is certainly a time and a place for this approach to work and school, but there's also a time and a place for time blocking. All right, so why is time blocking even a thing?
Why have you probably heard about it before? And why are we talking about it today? Well, because it can be a really, really effective task and time management tool. Whenever we add a set [00:04:00] beginning and end time to something we're doing, whether that's for work or school, or maybe our personal lives, and we have full clarity about the one single thing that we're doing during that time, we exponentially increase our likelihood of completing that thing efficiently and who the heck wouldn't want that?
Now, the typical way that we operate is kind of like getting into a car and having absolutely no destination. We generally know that we need to get somewhere, like somewhere, and so we start the car and we just drive and we follow the roads, you know, responding to traffic signals and obstacles, and maybe we dry for a few hours, and so we feel like we're doing something.
All right. We definitely know we're not where we started, but did we actually get anywhere? Did we arrive at our destination when we didn't even have one in the first place? Now, on the flip side, time [00:05:00] blocking is like getting in your car and saying, I need to drive to this specific location. It's saying I am going to drive there in 45 minutes.
And you set your navigation to that very specific destination. And you don't take a detour and you don't take random lefts and rights. You know when you're tempted to do so. You keep your foot on the pedal, your eyes on the road, and when you arrive at your destination, it is very clear that you have arrived at your destination because you knew where you were going in the first place.
That is time blocking. It is saying, this is what I'm doing and this is when I'm doing it, period.
And the cool thing is that approaching our work projects and our school assignments, and you know, our time in general this way is that it helps us focus on the right things, ignore the distractions, complete the things we need to do, and then just move on.
I said this before, but my definition of productivity is not about cramming more into less [00:06:00] time. It is about working on the right things efficiently, not messing around. And then getting 'em done so that we can just move on to free space, empty space, time to do spontaneous things or just whatever you want.
Now, in just a moment, I'm gonna give you an example of how a student might use time blocking, and then how a professional might use time blocking in some real case scenarios. But before I do that, I do wanna recognize something about time blocking that is quite real for many people. And that is if you're not used to concentrating on something for an extended period of time without, you know, checking your email or getting it from your desk or checking your phone, or just otherwise getting distracted, then time blocking can be really, really, really hard.
Some of my professional clients who I'm working on this technique with do struggle in the beginning because it's really the opposite way that most of us approach work. Yes. It is [00:07:00] challenging to sit down at a time that you said you were gonna sit down and work on the thing that you said you were gonna work on, which in many cases is something challenging like a project, or maybe writing a research paper or studying for an exam and focusing on that one thing until your time block is over.
That is hard. But in episode 24 called How to Focus Better Tips for School Work and A DHD. I share a ton of nitty gritty strategies that you can put in place to support your focus during a time-blocked work session. Again, that is episode 24. And then also episode 10 was a Q and A episode where I talked about focus strategies as well.
Actually, I have a ton of episodes in which I talk about focus. Another one is episode 43, which is how to focus when you're working from home. That might be a good one if you're implementing a time blocking strategy while working or studying from home. And then another one would be episode 55, where I talk about the strategy [00:08:00] of body doubling.
You can absolutely use a body doubling strategy during a time-blocked work session. And if you have ADHD, that can be a game-changer.
All right, so let's move on now to some use case scenarios for time blocking. I think it's always helpful to see examples, and I'm gonna share with you some examples that show you how to use time blocking on a sliding scale.
What do I mean by that? Well, you can use it sporadically for only small periods of your day, like maybe just for a Wednesday morning, all right, some random Wednesday morning. You can use it for a good chunk of your day for several days in a week. You can choose to only use it when you have, I don't know, particularly busy days or some important initiative that you need to work on.
It is a really flexible strategy for being as structured as it is, if that makes sense. Okay. So let's get into some examples. And by the way, if you're thinking [00:09:00] this sounds great, but I need help actually mapping this out, I've got you. I've created a free time block planning template that you can download and use to plan out your own time block sessions.
Just like in the examples I'm about to share. It is linked for you in the show notes or in the description box wherever you are listening, you could head to learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/77 as well. And now that I'm, you know, telling you to go places, do you guys follow me on Instagram? I would love it if you did.
I'm @SchoolHabits, all one word, and I love when I meet people who listen to this show. Over on Instagram. Otherwise, I don't know who you are 'cause I'm just talking to a microphone and to a camera. Anyways, starting with students, let's say that you're a college student and you have a huge research paper due in a few weeks, and at the same time, in that same time period, you wanna work on some internship applications.
Plus you have all the typical sort of student [00:10:00] admin tasks that come with being at that college level.
Now you could use time blocking throughout the week to plug away at these things. So let's say that on a Sunday evening you take out your calendar, you look ahead at the upcoming week, and you map out a few time blocks to work on each of these tasks. Like you're, you're finding a chunk of time where you're gonna work on one of these tasks at a time. Maybe Monday is a light day of classes.
So you set aside 90 minutes, maybe from nine 30 to 11 to work on your research paper, and then you block off from 11 to 1130 for an early lunch. I remember in college, one of my lunches was at like, I dunno, I grabbed lunch at like 10 50, but whatever.
Another block of work time from 1130 to one 15 maybe to work on your internship applications. And then you take a break, you do whatever, you know, whatever you want, and then you plan another chunk of 40 minutes or so, um, from four to four 40 for an admin block. I know I said 40 [00:11:00] minutes, half an hour, whatever it is.
If you're not sure what an admin block is, then make sure to check out episode three called What's An Admin Block and Why You Need One for Productivity. I will leave all those links again in the show notes.
Now, by the end of the day, I know that this is really hard to visualize listening to the audio here, but by the end of the day, you've done like a 90 minute block of work, another hour and 45 minute block of work and another 30 or 40 minute block of work.
So that's somewhere around three hours and 45 minutes of concentrated work
where you got done what you said you were going to get done. You were intentional about working on your research paper and your internship applications, and a bunch of student admin tasks like email or organization things or whatever. Right, and you planned this before the week started, and that is so much better than telling yourself, oh, I'm just gonna work on a bunch of things today or this week without actually knowing when you're gonna do them.
And then [00:12:00] Monday night rolls around and you realize, you know, maybe you did some random pseudo productivity things, but you never actually made progress on the stuff that matters, right? So that was just for one day, Monday. And maybe Monday is the only day that you time block, because that is your lightest class day.
And the other days it's just like handle it and survive. Right? But maybe you also have a light class day on Wednesdays and you do something similar to what you did on Monday.
Professionals, let's walk through what a time block might look like for you. So let's say that you are working from home on a particular day and you really wanna stay locked in and make some progress on some key projects on your plate.
So let's say this is for Monday. So Sunday evening, I want you taking out the Time Block Planner, like the one I made for you in the show notes. I want you to take that out and designate particular chunks of time in your day for specific work, maybe from nine to nine 30 you're handling email. Then from nine 30 to [00:13:00] 11, you're working on, I don't know, writing a report.
And then from 11 to 1130, you're back in your email. And then you take lunch. Yes, you can take lunch even when you're working from home. And then in the afternoon you could plan another time block session from 1230 to two, maybe where you either return to the project you worked on in the morning, or maybe you are working on something else, I don't know.
And then at two o'clock you switch to an admin block until three, and then a final work block from three to four 30. Now if I had the math skills of a normal functioning adult, I'd be able to do the math and tell you how many like minutes of time that you are doing concentrated work. If I could remember the times that I just rolled off at you, but I don't remember.
But regardless, that might seem rigid and really structured for people who aren't used to structure. But remember, I'm not saying to time block every day. I don't do that. This is a tool that you use as often as you need to. It could be once [00:14:00] a week, it could be several days a week. It could be, you know, just a few times a month when you start feeling overwhelmed.
Personally, I time block Mondays and some Fridays. I work from home on Mondays. I do not see any clients on Mondays because that's when I'm working on the digital side of my business. So writing blog posts, scripting videos, recording podcast episodes, answering questions for students inside school habits, university, all the editing that I do, all the digital side of my business, and there are so many components to that part of the business that if I didn't time block, I'd probably end up working too long on the wrong things, not long enough on the right things, right.
Now I do wanna share some common, um, roadblocks or mistakes that many people make when they first start out with time blocking. I myself, as have encountered these, and then the people that I coach, the students and the professionals who I'm teaching time blocking to often encounter these obstacles as well.
Now I do wanna draw attention to these [00:15:00] so that you don't think there's something wrong with you when you inevitably walk into one of these roadblocks. Okay? And the first one is time estimation. We are notoriously bad at estimating how long tasks take us. And if you think about it.
When you set up your time block plan for the day or for the week, you are asking yourself to estimate how long particular tasks are gonna take you. And it is really, really normal to be really, really wrong as you first start out. You might think that you can finish writing your report in your, you know, single 90 minute block of time, when in reality maybe you need three 90 minute blocks of time.
That's okay. A good time block plan will allow for miscalculations and other, you know, monkey wrenches that are gonna happen. So let's say that you gave yourself 90 minutes to write a report. Okay, let's like talk this through. You gave yourself 90 minutes, you had all the hope in the world, right? But then 90 minutes came and went and you thought like, oh my gosh, like I need triple [00:16:00] this time.
Okay, no problem. That's where you would look at your calendar and say, where can I find another 90 minute block of time? And if you're wondering, wait, how is my calendar gonna tell me that? That means you need to go back to the episode right before this one, episode 76, and listen to all of the digital calendar strategies that I shared in that.
Okay. But assuming you've set up your calendar like a ninja, maybe it's later that day.
And you reassign a time block that you were going to use for admin work and you work on that project instead. Or maybe you look ahead at Thursday and say, Hey, no problem. I have a two-hour chunk of time on Thursday morning where I haven't assigned to anything yet. I could work on it then. All of this is normal and it's actually part of the time blocking strategy.
Nobody gets it right all of the time. Now if there are regular tasks that you do nearly every day and you truly know how long they take you to complete, your estimations are probably gonna be pretty close. But for one-off tasks or larger projects, that [00:17:00] can be really hard to get it right.
Now, another roadblock that's common to encounter when you're trying to time block your day is focus.
It is really hard to focus. Yes, I mentioned this earlier at the top of this episode, but you know, despite time blocking being a strategy to improve focus is also still really hard. So what often happens is that someone might, you know, with really good intentions, block out a maybe a bunch of 90 minute work blocks back to back and then halfway through the first work block realize that that structure just does not fit with the type of focus that they're able to muster up, either just that day or in general. And then the mistake I see people make is to instantly say, well, you know, time blocking doesn't work for me.
It's too rigid. And if you were even hesitant to listen to this episode, 'cause you're like, I, I tried it before and it just didn't work. Maybe you just needed to adjust the time blocks to fit the way you personally operate because, so the strategy at that point becomes to do a [00:18:00] lighter version of time blocking and not to give up on it all altogether.
So maybe you reduce your work sessions to half an hour or maybe to 45 minutes, maybe even 25 minutes. Maybe you only time block Wednesdays after you get home from school, or Thursday mornings before your Thursday meetings start, right? Time blocking is a strategy that has to meet you where you're at. And if you're not at the point where you can just lock in for an extended period of time, then don't ask yourself to do that.
But here's the thing. Let's say that you reduce your time block session from 90 minutes, which didn't work out to 25 minutes, which you can handle, okay? You have to work on that one thing you said you were gonna work on for that full 25 minutes, because that's what makes it time blocking- a starting point and an end point and a single thing that you're working on.
Now the length of the session and how many sort of that you stack back to back at all can be modified, [00:19:00] but the starting and ending in the one task element or you know, characteristic of your time block session has to be in place. Otherwise, it is not time blocking.
All right, so, and a third common mistake that people make when time blocking is not protecting the time block.
Once it's on the calendar, you might go through all of the effort to create a beautifully color coded time block plan, but when the time comes to actually sit down and do the task, you let something else take over, maybe like an unexpected email, a phone call, a spontaneous request from a colleague or a family member.
Yes, all of these things you could classify as important, but when this happens repeatedly, the message you're sending yourself is that your time block isn't real. That it's, it's an optional thing, that it's fake. And if you treat it like it's optional, it's gonna get overridden by whatever feels more urgent in the moment.
Every single time. So the fix [00:20:00] here is to treat your time blocks like actual appointments, like meetings. You would not bail on a meeting with your boss or your professor just 'cause you didn't feel like it. Right? You'd show up. And that's the mindset we need for our own time blocks. They are our commitments to ourselves.
You can build in flexibility, yes, but once they are on your calendar, the default should be to show up.
Okay, my friend. So let's recap what we have covered today. I think I'm doing a better job trying to recap the episodes. It's tough when I have an episode where it's like 10 tips to do whatever.
Sometimes I can't remember what the 10 tips are, but this was just more of a general strategy episode, so I think I'll be okay. We defined what time locking actually is, which is a method for assigning a specific task to a specific block of time with a start and endpoint. We talked about why this strategy can be so effective for increasing focus and productivity without working longer hours 'cause I [00:21:00] am not about that. And I walked you through some examples for both students and professionals to show you how flexible this method can be. You know, even if you only use it once or twice a week, or you end up using it, I don't know, maybe once a month.
We looked at some common mistakes to avoid, like underestimating how long things take and what to do if your estimations are off, which they will be, overcommitting your focus, and then not protecting the time blocks once they have been scheduled.
And of course, if you wanna try this method, I have that free time Block planner template available for you to download and use. It is simple, printable and designed to help you map out your day in a way that supports your focus. You can grab that in the description box or in the show notes at Learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/77.
Thank you for hanging out with me today. I hope this episode gave you something tangible you can try, even if it's just one or two time blocks to start. Remember, time blocking doesn't have to be a daily habit to be helpful. It just has to be a [00:22:00] deliberate one. I'll see you in the next episode and remember, never stop learning.
