Hour Blocking: The secret to Effective Time Management

Time management is an essential skill, and hour blocking is an easy and powerful way

to master this skill. You can use it to block off hours in your schedule and get more

things finished. It enables you to take control of the minutes in each day.

Follow this process to take advantage of this valuable technique:

1. Start with planning. Make a list of all of your important tasks for the week.

Then, narrow this list down to three to five essential tasks.

Be realistic about your planning. Avoid thinking that you can do a million

tasks in one day or week.

2. Block your hours. After you have a short list of tasks, block the hours on your

schedule. This is called time blocking and essentially requires you to take each

hour and assign a task or item to it.

Clump related tasks together and add them to specific blocks of time.

Remember to schedule lunches and breaks. Taking time to rest your

mind and body is important! Your breaks allow you to get back to your

tasks with renewed energy.

3. Reduce distractions. Hour blocking demands that you eliminate distractions, so

you don’t lose focus.

Figure out what your main distractions are. Do you waste time on social

media or constantly check your phone? Do you spend hours in your email

inbox and respond to every message instantly?

Eliminate or reduce these distractions. You may want to set aside a

specific chunk of time each day to handle your social media, email inbox,

and other tasks that distract you from your more essential actions.

Also, when you’re working, let others know that you’re busy so they can

limit their interruptions.

4. Keep the time blocks flexible. Unless you know the exact amount of time each

task will take, it’s important to keep the time blocks flexible. This will also

enable you to take care of other important things that come up with a minimum

amount of stress or changes to your schedule.

5. Review your time blocks regularly. Make adjustments as needed. If your tasks

change, or you find that they take more or less time than you thought, modify

your time blocks to take the new information into account.

Reviewing your time blocks will also give you the chance to see when

you’re most productive. If you do your best work in the morning, schedule

more important tasks during these hours. Reviews will help you evaluate

your productivity levels and decide which parts need attention.

Another advantage of doing reviews is that it gives you the chance to see

if your reminders are working or if they need to be changed. Use alerts on

your phone or computer, sticky notes, or traditional alarms to remind you

that it’s time to move to the next task. The key is to find something that

works for you.

Effective time management can help you finish more tasks each day and feel more

accomplished. Hour blocking is a useful method for anyone who is interested in

greater productivity, either at home or at work.

If you need more help planning your time, sign up for a FREE 1/2 hour Clarity Call, and we’ll get you started in the right direction.