PLANNING YOUR DAY WITH BLOCK SCHEDULING

WHAT IS BLOCK SHEDULING?

Block scheduling is when you take a look at your day and break it down into time blocks. In each of those time blocks, you plot out specifically what you are going to work on during that time. When I first heard this explained by Jordan Page of funcheaporfree.com, she explained it kind of like how a school day is set up. When you go into math class, you work only on math for the period of time assigned to that class. You are not working on another subject or doing other things, you work on math.

We all want to stay focused and get certain things done. Blocking out our day in the same way it is done in school helps us to focus on specific things during time blocks during the day. This allows you to specifically plan out what you will work on and when. You map out your day by blocks of time.

SEE HOW MUCH TIME YOU ACTUALLY HAVE

When you plot your days out into time blocks, you can see how much time you have to really get things done during the day. This can lessen the chances of being disappointed for not get that many things done on your to-do list. When you lay things out by the time you actually have available and use a realistic estimate for the amount of time it will take to complete each task, you will have a much better picture of what can get done.

It can help you to see that you cannot really expect yourself to get so many things done in one day.  It can help you avoid overextending yourself, there are only so many time slots in a day!

SAVE TIME

Once you have identified what you will work on during each of the time blocks you have identified, you do not have to keep checking your to-do list to see what you to work on next. This saves time because you have already decided once what was most important for you to get done that day. You don’t have to keep taking time throughout the day to reassess your to-do list. It’s like when you get a routine down, you don’t waste time in between tasks trying to figure out what comes next.

HELPS TO PRIORITIZE YOUR DAY

Assigning your to-dos into blocks of time really helps you prioritize what you will work on each day. There are only so many blocks of time to work with. So you will have to really consider what is most important to you to get accomplished. You may have several priorities on your to-do list that you want to make progress on. It will be important to allocate a smaller portion of time to each one.

Without planning out the time frames, you might devote too much time to one project and not make any progress on the others. By focusing on one task at a time you are more productive than when you try to multi-task. You can really put everything else out of your mind and think more clearly about what you are trying to accomplish.

WHEN CAN BLOCK SCHEDULING BE USED?

This method can be used for personal tasks, business tasks, and even works great for children who might be involved in activities on certain days. By blocking out their schedule, it can help them prioritize when they need to make sure they get homework or other things done.

At work, I use block scheduling to lay out what tasks I plan to work on.  When you have a lot on your plate for a certain day, it can make you feel less stressed. If you can plan out blocks of time to make some progress on each task it can reduce that stress. Of course, this doesn’t always work out, when other things suddenly come up.  But, there are days when it does work, or at least for part of the day!

When I am off, I will use block scheduling to plan out my day.  I will often just take a to-do list pad and map out the things I want to get done and assign a time slot to them.  I also make sure to include any fun things I might want to do. That might be something like swim for a little bit, read for a while, or whatever else I would like to do. I do set a time, and check off each time slot as I complete it.  Because often you can get really involved in something and then lose the time that you wanted for other things.

TIPS FOR SETTING UP YOUR BLOCK SCHEDULE

There are several options for plotting out your time blocks. You can download worksheets online which have the time blocks of the day listed out. Or you can simply write out timeframes on paper or on the computer. Many planners also include timeframes on the pages to allow you to create a block schedule of your day.

Make sure to block out time when you are not able to work on tasks.  For example, getting ready for the day, prepping and eating meals, driving a child to an activity, and anything else that will take up time where you will not be able to work on a task.

Be realistic about time frames. If you have errands to run, consider delays in travel time, waiting in line if a store is busy, or whatever else might cause you to take more time. If set up and clean-up will be needed for whatever you are working on, include that in your estimated time. Make the time frames long enough to make sufficient progress on your task.  You want to feel like you took some good steps moving forward.

REMAIN FLEXIBLE

Don’t be rigid. Things often come up, even when we think for sure they will not! Sometimes you will have to be flexible.  Blocking out your schedule is meant to be a tool to help you out, not to create stress. If you have to abandon the schedule for a period of time, just create a new plan when you can. Just like everything else, progress over perfection applies in following a block schedule.  Don’t overload yourself with the schedule! The purpose is to help keep you on task, not to work yourself until you drop

I do not have a schedule blocked out for every workday or every day off.  I mostly use it when I am feeling a little stressed out by wanting to accomplish several things. By planning it out in time blocks, it helps me feel better knowing that if I follow along with the plan, I will get a lot done.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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