How to use time-blocking to get more work done

Most of our work calendars are chock full of appointments we can’t miss: Team meetings, project huddles, performance reviews – you name it.

But have you ever made an appointment with yourself, and treated it with the same level of commitment? That’s the idea behind time-blocking, the practice of reserving time on your own calendar to knock out specific projects.

This has two big benefits: First, it carves out space in your workday to accomplish important tasks that otherwise might get pushed to the sidelines. Second, it reduces the temptation to try to multi-task your way through a giant to-do list (spoiler alert: multi-tasking is impossible).

“You’re trying to curb the effect of bouncing from thing to thing. You don’t want to be a ping-pong ball trying to get through your day,” says Krissy Metzler, an executive function coach.

What is time-blocking?

“Time blocking is appointments with yourself to do specific work,” says Alexis Haselberger, a time management and productivity coach.

Think of it this way: In the same way you might have an hour-long time slot blocked for a Zoom meeting, you might reserve an hour on your calendar to prepare slides for an upcoming presentation. It’s about giving the tasks on your to-do list a specific time on your schedule where you will work on them (and nothing else).

Time blocks can be one-off and project specific, but they can also be repeating elements on your calendar. For example, you might create a recurring daily block on your schedule from 9-9:30am to catch up on your email.

The important thing to remember is that time-blocking only works if you treat these appointments seriously, allowing yourself the time to work on the task without being responsible to anything – or anyone – else.

Why is time-blocking effective?

Time-blocking works so well because it corrects for our tendency to get pulled in too many directions.

“We are hard-wired as humans to get distracted,” Metzler says. We have a desire to take care of things as soon as they pop up, playing whack-a-mole with every task during our work day. 

Time-blocking helps you resist this temptation by giving everything its proper place. Metzler explains it this way: Imagine you’re in the middle of a time block working on a project for Client A, when someone pops by your desk to talk about Client B. You know you have a separate time block later in your day for Client B, so you can confidently say, “I hear you, I have time later to think about Client B,” which gives you permission to continue focusing on Client A without context-switching. 

Time-blocking also has another benefit: It forces you to be more realistic with your to-do list, Haselberger says. That’s because time-blocking acts as a visual representation of how long tasks will take to complete, and might help you realize you’ve taken on too much. Over time, this awareness can prevent you from over-committing at work: Once your calendar is full, you know you don’t realistically have time to take on more tasks.

Two ways to incorporate time-blocking into your day

Depending on your needs and preferences, there are two ways you can incorporate time-blocking into your work life.

Put it right on your work calendar

This is the most direct way of time-blocking. When you need an hour to complete a project, add that as an event to the same work calendar that houses your other meetings. Your coworkers won’t be able to schedule over your time blocks, and you’ll show as “busy” during that time. 

The benefit of this approach is that it truly protects your time blocks from being scheduled over, Haselberger says. The downside is that your coworkers might get frustrated if your calendar suddenly has a lot less availability for meetings. 

Create a secondary time-blocking calendar

If you’re not feeling bold enough to make hard boundaries on your work calendar, you can create a secondary calendar that only you have access to. This “overlay,” as Haselberger describes it, would allow you to see your own time blocks, but wouldn’t show up on your official work calendar.

The benefit here is that it allows flexibility if someone does need to schedule a meeting with you. But that’s also the downside: Nothing is stopping your coworkers from booking over all your time blocks. 

How to come up with time estimates

No matter the method you choose, any time-blocking system relies on accurate estimates of how long a task will take to complete.

Creating these estimates is a skill in itself, Metzler says. It’s normal in the beginning for your estimates to be off, and it’s common for people to take longer than they expect to complete a task. Metzler suggests asking yourself these questions to create more accurate estimates:

• Do I have all the information I need to start this task? (If not, you need time to gather the information)
• Am I in a good headspace? (If you’re working with low energy, for example, this will impact your efficiency)
• Do I have a clear vision of what needs to be done? (Or, put another way, is your team aligned on their goals?)

Then, after you complete a task, it’s essential to reflect on how long it actually took. Did it take more or less time than you expected, and why? Digging into the “why” is really important for understanding how to create more accurate time estimates in the future, Metzler says.

Once you get the hang of this, you can make your life easier by creating a “cheat sheet” for how long it takes you to complete common or repeating tasks. “Don’t store things in your brain rent-free,” Metzler says.

You might also find that you have a consistent “off-ratio” for time blocks, Haselberger says. For example, if tasks almost always take you 1.5x as long as you expect, you can add that 1.5x multiplier to your time estimates going forward. 

Common time-blocking mistakes to avoid

• Creating time blocks that are too vague: Time-blocking is most effective when we get specific about the tasks for each block, Haselberger. Don’t just set aside an hour for “deep work,” but rather name the specific task or project you want to work on during that time. 
• Overscheduling your day: You might be really excited to try time-blocking, but don’t overdo it. If you overschedule yourself by time-blocking every moment of your day with no buffers, it can actually become a barrier to productivity, according to Metzler. “That’s too much pressure on ourselves, and it’s not conducive to remaining flexible,” she says. Instead, she advises starting with three time blocks and getting used to those for a few weeks before you add more to your daily schedule.
• Neglecting the necessities: Don’t forget to make time for things like checking email or taking lunch breaks. Those deserve a time block in your schedule, too, Metzler says. Because if you don’t reserve time to do those things, they can easily fall by the wayside. (Skipping lunch doesn’t help your efficiency or productivity, Metzler notes). 
• Getting pulled out of your time blocks for something urgent: This is a common pitfall, Metzler says, and calls for some reflection. She says that often we see things as “urgent” when they actually aren’t. They might be important, but could potentially wait until after your time block. When you get pulled away like this, think about whether you can handle it differently the next time something “urgent” comes up.
• Not having any time to time-block in the first place: You might look at your calendar, chock full of meetings, and conclude there’s no open time to start time-blocking for other tasks. If this is the case, Haselberger suggests doing a “meeting audit” to try to free up some space in your calendar.
• Deleting (or not honoring) your time blocks: As much as you tell yourself a time block is an appointment with yourself, you might still feel tempted to ignore it on a busy day. This is where Haselberger has a rule for herself: She’s never allowed to delete a time block, she can only move it. So instead of blowing past it, she’ll reschedule it and find a time to get that work done.