THE SECRET TO HOW TOP PERFORMERS PROTECT THEIR TIME
Ever wonder how some of your colleagues always appear calm - they meet every deadline, leave the office on time to get to their son's little league game, and manage to get to the gym four times a week?
There's a strong possibility that they, like many other top performers, are using the system of Time Blocking.
WHAT IS TIME BLOCKING?
Simply put, time blocking is setting aside time in your calendar. When using your calendar to plan your day, time blocking enables you to get your most important work done in the least amount of time.
Some people use time blocking so that they will be assured of uninterrupted time in the office. If your colleagues have access to your calendar and the ability to schedule meetings on it, this enables you to show yourself as busy for the blocks of time you need to get high-level work done.
Time blocking can also be used more specifically to reserve time for a specific task. For example, if you need to write a proposal that you expect to take an hour, add “Work on Proposal” from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Do you have personal things that never seem to get done? Try blocking off time in your calendar to do them.
This is especially effective with exercise. If your goal is to exercise three times a week, try creating an event (like, Go to Gym) at a specific time in your calendar. There will certainly be times when you need to do something that is more important, but having it as a repeating event significantly increases the odds that you will actually do it.
WHY USE TIME BLOCKING?
While it may seem inconvenient to block your time in your calendar, the benefit is tremendous. If you DON'T block your time, it is very easy (and likely) for you to get caught up in less important work like emails and admin and procrastinate on your more difficult, important tasks.
By blocking your time, you are making an appointment with yourself, hopefully for the time of day when you are less likely to be interrupted or distracted. If you block time during your window of peak performance, when your concentration is best and your work most efficient, you will be able to tackle challenging work with optimal results.
Do you use time blocking? What has your experience been?
HAVE YOU HEARD?
Super-Productive: 120 Strategies to Do More and Stress Less is now available on Amazon. Implementing a few of these strategies will take your productivity from good to GREAT!
For more productivity tips, check out these recent posts:
WHY YOU SHOULD CREATE A PLAN EVEN WHEN IT'S GOING TO CHANGE
10 MINUTES DOING THIS, WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE
3 SIMPLE AND POWERFUL PRODUCTIVITY HACKS
