There never seems to be enough time in the day for everything we need to do. Add in the prevalence of social media and our desire to stay connected, plus the virtual offices in which many work since the pandemic began, and there’s a tendency for the workday to creep into the leisure hours.

One way to get everything done in an eight-hour day—and manage private life, too—is with time blocking.

Benefits of time blocking

One reason time blocking is desirable is that most people underestimate how long it will take to complete a given task, even if they have done it or similar tasks before. It’s a common enough phenomenon to have a name: the Planning Fallacy.

Overcoming this fallacy requires taking an outside view based on experience rather than an overly optimistic inside view. Time blocking forces you to be realistic about your time and work.

When a task is time-blocked, it leaves a base record for the next time. Even if you underestimated how long a task would take this time, next time you will have a better idea.

There are other benefits, too.

Time blocking will make you find time for everything

Time blocking doesn’t just work for your job. Finding time for social activities, appointments (medical, accountant), chores, and hobbies also can be difficult. With time blocking, you can make sure you don’t neglect them as well. Schedule when to stop working and set aside time for family, friends, and yourself.

Time blocking promotes focused “deep work”

There are at least two types of job-related activities: deep work and shallow work. In general, deep work is creative, strategic, and analytical. Shallow work is logistical and paperwork that is necessary but does not require deep thought.

Time blocking promotes focused “deep work,” a term coined by Cal Newport in his book of the same name, subtitled, “Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.” Deep work, Newport writes, are “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit … create new value [and] improve your skill.”

Work that needs to get done but doesn’t help to fulfill your long-term goals is considered shallow work. Answering emails, returning phone calls, and online chatting with colleagues are often examples of shallow work, though there are exceptions.

Shallow work is important but it can distract from deep work. For example, checking social media may divide your attention for up to 30 minutes. Time blocking helps you limit the amount of time you devote to shallow work.

Examples of Shallow Work vs. Deep work

It makes it easier to say “No”

An important goal of time blocking is focus, and that means learning to say no. Entrepreneurs and politicians agree on the importance of saying no, but many people have a hard time doing it. Reasons include fear of conflict, fear of disappointing someone, and maybe even fear of being fired.

Time blocking shows how your time is scheduled. When asked to take on a new task, having your time blocked out can give you the backing you need to say no with a clear conscience.

It discourages perfectionism

In 1955, C. Northcote Parkinson codified his famous law, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” One reason may be fear of running out of things to do, or laziness (Why work harder/faster than I need to?) but another is perfectionism: The more time we work on a project, the better it is likely to be.

That’s not always correct, but even if it were, we have other things to work on. Blocking out a set amount of time encourages you to spend just so much time on a task rather than trying to make it perfect.

It encourages you to plan ahead

Sometimes when we start a task or set a goal, we not only underestimate the time it will take but the preparation and planning required. Putting it in writing and setting a firm deadline increases the chances you will complete the task on schedule.

Task Batching

One of the biggest distractions in the workplace is multitasking because it forces you to shift focus. If you group many similar tasks to work on at the same time, you minimize the need to shift focus. That’s task batching.

Most batched tasks are shallow work. Complex tasks should not be task batched. For example, rather than checking your email or social media constantly, schedule a couple of short blocks of time each day.

Task Batching Examples

You can sort different tasks for task batching by:

• Type of actions needed.
• Level of effort required.
• Project.
• Invoicing.
• Meetings.
• Errands.

Day Theming

Day theming is a variant of time batching in which each day is blocked for a certain type of activity. This is most useful for someone with a lot of different tasks, such as an entrepreneur or startup business owner, who doesn’t have a lot of (or any) support staff. One day might be set aside for sales calls, another for writing, and still another for planning the week’s schedule.

Time Boxing

Time boxing is a version of time blocking where the time for completing a task is blocked, not just the time to work on the task.

Follow your schedule. Try to stick to the times and tasks that you’ve scheduled. Use a time tracker app if you have trouble remembering to record precisely when you finish a task.

Revise your schedule as needed. If the schedule in practice did not work—if a task took less or more time—make changes to the next schedule.

How to write up your time-blocking schedule

There are no rules for what a time-blocking plan looks like. It can be on a sheet of paper, on a wall or desk calendar, an Excel document, a free online template, or a proprietary time tracker app for your computer, tablet, or smartphone (see below).

Color code different tasks to make it easier to keep track of them.

Common time-blocking mistakes

Time blocking is a tool but it doesn’t always work in every situation. It will work better if you avoid or correct these mistakes.

Not telling people about your time blocking

If you are adopting time blocking on your own, not as part of a company-wide program, make sure your colleagues and co-workers know your new schedule, when you’re not available or would prefer not to be distracted. Some distractions may still be necessary, but people are more likely to respect your time blocks if they know about them.

Spread the word. If it works for you, others may decide to follow suit.

Not planning for problems

No matter how you plan and strive to keep to your schedule, the odds are higher that something will go wrong or otherwise take more time than you’ve allotted than that all will go smoothly or take less time than scheduled, especially when you first start time blocking.

To get ahead of problems, try to schedule a block of time during the week in case something goes wrong—a couple of hours or a whole day—or have other problems. If you don’t need it, great. If you do, you’ll be glad you did.

Not making adjustments

If despite your best efforts, you still don’t have enough time for everything as scheduled, accept that you have to make changes. Don’t be afraid to put something off, delegate someone else to handle it, hire an outside contractor, or drop something altogether.

Stubbornly holding on to part of your schedule that isn’t working could lead to the whole enterprise collapsing or to a nervous breakdown.

Forgetting to include breaks

You don’t just need time off on the weekend. You need to schedule breaks throughout the day between tasks or—if it takes several hours—in the middle of a task. You also need time for meals and rest at the end of the day.

You may be able to postpone these breaks for a little while, but eventually, the deficit will catch up with you. Working long-term without breaks can affect not only the quality of your work but your social life and your mental and physical health. So, include breaks in your time-blocking plan.

Try to schedule a final short break at the end of the to decompress and reflect on or review the day’s progress. Then, if you’re able, put your work aside until the next work day begins.

Time-blocking apps

There are many apps that can help you with time blocking. Here are some of the best rated.

1. Any.do - Task manager and calendar assistant
2. Asana - Productivity app
3. ClickUp - Task management app
4. Clockwise - Calendar app
5. DigiCal - Daily planner
6. Fantastical - Mac calendar app
7. Fellow - Meeting management app
8. Google Calendar - Calendar app
9. HourStack - Project management app
10. Microsoft To Do - To-do list app
11. Plan - Task management and to-do list app
12. Planyway - Time tracker app for Trello and Jira users
13. Remember the Milk - To-do list and task management app
14. Sunsama - Daily planner app
15. Things 3 - Task management app

It doesn’t matter which app you use. It doesn’t matter if you use a desk calendar. Time blocking isn’t about blocking time for the hell of it. Time blocking is a means of increasing efficiency and productivity, of getting more out of limited resources.

Maybe time blocking isn’t right for you. If it doesn’t help, try something else. This guide should help you decide.