Why Time Blocking Hasn’t Worked For You (And What to do Instead!)

If you have stumbled upon this blog post, you’re likely someone who is looking to change up some routines and restructure your days so you can stop feeling stressed, disorganized, and unproductive. 

If you’re a mom like me, you also might be trying to figure out how to 🪄magically🪄 find more time in the day to fit everything in!

Here’s the thing, friend: this blog post is not going to turn your 24 hour days into 30 hour days.

What will you find?

✳️ The reason time blocking hasn’t worked for you in the past - and what to do instead

✳️ Tips for organizing your tasks and structuring your days - spoiler: there’s no one-size-fits-all approach here!

✳️ Tools for organizing your time blocked days

✳️ A freebie to help you get started!

OK, let’s dive in!

What is time blocking?

Time blocking is a way of structuring your days into “blocks” of time where specific tasks will be completed during specific blocks. This time management strategy is supposed to increase our focus, help us work more productively, and ensure we get everything done by the end of the week.

Some people time block only their work commitments while others include personal activities such as exercise, work-free lunch, reading, etc.

While you might think there is a right way to time block and wrong way, I disagree: time blocking needs to work for the individual and there are infinite possibilities when it comes to time blocking your day!

Who should try time blocking?

If you’re wondering if you should try time blocking, here are some scenarios it might be helpful:

• You feel like you work all day but don’t accomplish much

• You get easily distracted

• You find yourself starting a lot of tasks but not completing them

• You have a hard time prioritizing things that are good for you (exercise, eating lunch, going for a walk outside, etc) because you’re always focused on work

• You want to know where your time is going every day

Why time blocking might not work for you - and what to do instead

So here’s the thing: I used to HATE the idea of time blocking! I thought time blocking meant I had to have little squares filling up my entire Google Calendar, Monday through Friday. I thought it was a rigid schedule and it made me stressed thinking about what would happen if I didn’t finish a task or project in the expected block of time.

But then I realized something: I was sort of time blocking without even realizing it!

Let me back up: when I first started my virtual assistant business, I had my baby home with me two days a week. I very quickly fell into some routines:

⏰ On Monday mornings I’d go grocery shopping for the week and bring my baby along. During naptime I’d work in my business.

⏰ On Tuesdays I did all of my retainer clients’ recurring tasks (the ones that need to happen every week)

⏰ On Wednesdays I did Asana VIP Days (a one-day project for one-time clients)

⏰ On Thursdays I’d do other errands because the baby was home with me. Sometimes we’d just go to a cafe or go for a walk. During nap time I’d work in my business, just like Mondays.

⏰ On Fridays I did one-time tasks and projects for my retainer clients

Wouldn’t you know it - I was partially time blocking my weeks without even realizing it!🤯

My steps for successful time blocking

Like I mentioned earlier, there are lots of ways to time block your weeks, but I want to share exactly what I do - and how I help my clients, too!

1. Determine your most productive times

First, reflect on your days and your weeks as a whole. Are there times of day you are more productive? Is your brain more “on” in the mornings and a little distracted in the afternoons? Are you a night owl and love banging out some work after the kids go to bed?

What about the days of the week: are there days of the week you’re more productive? Do you go to spin class every Tuesday morning and that helps your brain stay focused and alert the rest of the day? Do you start dragging by Friday after a long week? Or is Monday your slow day, after a weekend home with your kids?😝

When you know the times of day and days of the week you are more productive, you can try to plan your “higher focus” tasks and projects for these times. 

2. Make a list of all of your recurring tasks

I am a big fan of “partial time blocking.” It’s hard for me to predict how long a new project or task will take me, but those recurring tasks? I have a pretty good idea how long those take because I do them regularly!

Download my freebie - The Secret to Streamlining Your Admin Tasks - to help with this step. It’s an editable Google Doc and will walk you through brainstorming and organizing all of your recurring tasks - daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.

3. Group similar tasks together

Looking at your list of recurring tasks, start grouping similar ones together. For example, do you have multiple tasks that involve metrics or spreadsheets? Group those together. Do you have multiple tasks that require writing copy (newsletter, Instagram captions, etc)? Group those together, too! Group any Canva tasks together, group meetings together, etc. I think you get the picture!

Now, decide which groups of tasks require more brain power and plan to do those during your most productive times. Tasks that are more “mindless” and quick? Do those when your brain might be dragging in the afternoon - or whenever you notice you’re distracted!

4. Establish routines

When you start doing the same groups of tasks around the same time each week, you’ll quickly fall into a routine! If you want to know exactly how long a group of tasks takes you, I suggest using a free time tracker like Clockify.

Unless you have a crazy amount of recurring tasks, you’ll probably notice a good part of your day isn’t time blocked - and that’s OK! This is exactly why I love partial time blocking: it gives some structure and predictability to my days and weeks but also allows for plenty of flexibility for all those other projects and tasks that come up!

Choose the right tool to organize your time blocks

By this point you might be asking yourself, “OK I’m totally onboard with Brianna’s partial time blocking strategy, but how the heck do I remember what to do when??” Let me share a few tools with you:

1️⃣ Download my freebie, The Secret to Streamlining Your Admin Time - Yes, I’m going to keep mentioning this because it’s really that good! You need to start your time blocking journey by knowing exactly what all of your recurring tasks are and grouping similar tasks together.

2️⃣ Organize your tasks in Asana - Asana is a free task and project management tool that is very easy to use. There are a lot out there, but Asana is truly my favorite. You can set up all of your recurring tasks with reminders so each day you’ll know exactly what you need to do. What’s more, any link, website, Google Doc, or other resource you need to complete that task can be added to Asana, too! Plus, those one-off tasks and projects can also be organized in Asana.

Did you know I offer Asana VIP Days where I create completely customized Asana setups for business owners? You’ll have one central place to organize everything: content planning, tracking leads, onboarding clients, planning projects and events - and more! I’d love to chat with you more about this!

3️⃣ Google Calendar - Lots of people use Google Calendar to block their days. I’ve seen some really pretty ones with gorgeous color palettes! Personally, I don’t do this. I prefer using Asana because I can link everything I need and I know approximately how long my recurring tasks will take me.

4️⃣ Planner - If you’re a fan of planners, this could be a place to document your recurring tasks and time block your days. If you book an Asana VIP Day with me, I created an awesome resource for people who need their day mapped out on physical paper but also want to use Asana to help them be more organized and productive.

Final tips for successful time blocking

Have you taken this all in, friend? It’s a lot, I know. I want to share a few final tips with you before we part ways:

✳️ Download my freebie, The Secret to Streamlining Your Admin Time - If you didn’t click this link earlier in the blog post, do it now! I promise it will help you. There’s a reason it’s my most popular freebie!

✳️ Focus on partial time blocking - If you’re like me, time blocking your entire day/week might feel overwhelming or boxed in. You could even start with time blocking one day! Focus on those recurring tasks, group similar ones together, be mindful of your most productive/focused work times, and do your tasks at the same time on the same day each week.

✳️ Be flexible and make adjustments as needed - When you’re first starting this time management strategy, you might under- or overestimate how long tasks will take it. Just make note of it and adjust your day/week as needed!