Time-Blocking 101: How to Restructure Your Schedule to Make Time for Everything
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. However, I only recommend products I use and love.
Confession: I spent the first 6 months of this year running around like a chicken with my head cut off. 🐔 Bakkk!
Sure, in some aspects I had it totally together, but I felt like my priorities were all out of whack. I was always working, yet somehow felt like I never got anything done. The people pleaser in me was THRIVING.. because I was putting the needs of my clients, and at times my relationship, before my needs and best interests.
As the heat of NYC summer crept in, I started finding an almost daily excuse to skip the gym (AGAIN) to work another hour or two, and then maybe open some wine. And let me tell you, as a result, my mental health and how my body physically felt, started to suffer.
I’m pretty self-aware and good at recognizing when something needs to change. Life is short and I want to squeeze as much out of it as humanly possible, the same way I squeeze the shit out of my lemon wedge into my hot water as part of my morning routine.
So I decided that it was time to LEVEL UP. Glam up my shit, if you will. 💅
I’m now being aggressively selfish with my time, unwavering with the boundaries I’m setting, and meticulous AF with my schedule. (Are you as excited about this as I am?! Want to do it with me?! SAY YES!!)
Let’s get granular, shall we?
I’m time-blocking my whole week, meaning entire days at a time.
If you aren’t familiar with time-blocking, also referred to as ‘time-batching,’ the concept is simple. It just means setting a timer and working on one task, giving it your full attention without any distractions, for a set period of time.
For me this looks like..
Mondays and Wednesdays are now dedicated to client work ONLY. This includes emails and calls. My clients are amazing, I love them and they are what make it possible for me to be self-employed. They also take up a huge bulk of my time, hence 2 full days (plus maybe a third, I’ll get to that in a sec.)
Tuesdays are now dedicated to working on MY brand / business. This includes content creation, writing blog posts, creating and scheduling email newsletters, Pinterest and Instagram marketing, making any updates to my website or offerings, plus making progress on whatever online course I’m currently taking. I no longer even check email on Tuesdays.
In addition to being laser-focused on my business without the distraction of client work and emails, another benefit of limiting the work I do on my business to one day each week means I have to prioritize tasks that move the needle. Sure, it would be fun to create Instagram content 24/7, but since that only brings in a tiny bit of my website traffic, I don’t need to spend very much time on it.
Here’s where it starts to get REALLY FUN. I’m dedicating every Thursday to personal development. By this I mean NO business-related WORK of any kind. Instead I’ll be painting, playing the piano, meditating, going for long walks in Manhattan or Brooklyn, pinning new recipes, cooking, or even sleeping / binge-watching Hulu.. if that’s what I need to do for me that day. Why an entire day dedicated to this? Because these are the things that bring me inspiration and joy.. yet somehow I never have time for any of it because I have been prioritizing work-work-work-work-work. I truly believe that you cannot pour from an empty cup, so this will be the one day each week that is 100% about filling MY OWN DAMN CUP. As someone who is literally paid to be creative, I can’t emphasize enough how important this is.
Fridays will be a floating / free day. Most likely, at least for now, Fridays will also be client work days.
What about a workout?
In addition to the time-blocked days, I’m scheduling my daily 30 minute workout for 11am SHARP on Monday-Friday. This means setting an alarm and going to the gym at that time with NO EXCEPTIONS. If I don’t feel like sweating hard that day, I can stretch or do some gentle yoga. Walking on the treadmill counts too. The point is movement and getting the heart rate up.
Just the act of going to the gym is 70% of the battle for me, and if I learned anything from Atomic Habits, it’s that showing up EVEN IF you don’t work out is still better than not going at all, because it begins to form the habit. Fun fact: I have genetic high cholesterol and anxiety (lucky me!).. but over the last year, aside from a few good streaks and my newfound love for Obé Fitness, my workout has crept its way lower and lower on my list of prioritizes. SAD! I have also been doing it last thing in the day.. when I am the most tired. Neglecting exercise is one of the dumbest things I could do. Working out is amazing in so many ways, but it’s especially important for lowering cholesterol and preventing/reducing chronic anxiety.
How to implement this
How have I ensured that I stick to my new schedule without compromise? Aside from my obnoxious calendar complete with alerts off the wazoo, I told my boyfriend that I won’t be cooking dinner every night during the week anymore because my health and business have to come first right now. (If I don’t interrupt my work day to cook dinner, I can work as late as I need to get everything done AND do the 11am workout.)
Why am I sharing all this in such detail?
No it’s not because I’m a narcissist and I think anyone cares what I’m doing all day. I’m sharing this strategy because I believe strongly in the power of PLANNED discipline OVER motivation, I don’t believe that will-power is a real thing, and I have experienced firsthand the effectiveness of time-batching, habit-stacking and boundary setting. I’m sharing this for you, so you can level up your schedule too, if you want to!
If you’re thinking.. “uhhh MUST BE NICE, GRETCHENNN, but SOME of us have full-time jobs..” hold on a sec and hear me out. This post is still for you.
I recognize that I am able to do this in such an intense way because I am self-employed. Before you get all annoyed with me, take a moment to consider how YOU could do this on a smaller scale, even if you work a full-time job or have kids.
Do you have an hour each night after work / before dinner when you usually zone out with a glass of wine, watch tv or scroll instagram? Instead, could you SCHEDULE BEFOREHAND an activity or hobby that you’ve been DYING to start doing, but can never “find time” for?
If you cook dinner every night during the week like I have been, is there ONE or TWO nights each week that you could order takeout instead, or ask your partner to cook, even if it’s eggs? (That’s all my boyfriend knows how to make, lol.) And then block that time for some personal development work or to FINALLY start that side hustle you’ve been dreaming about forever?
Or perhaps there’s a way that you can apply time-blocking to your 9-5 job. Are you finding yourself constantly distracted by / being reactive to emails, and as a result never getting enough done? Can you turn your notifications and email OFF for 1-2 hours in the afternoon each day, to dedicate your full attention to the task at hand? (I recommend convincing your boss FIRST why this is a great idea. Don’t get yourself in trouble.)
If you’ve never time-batched, I promise you will be amazed at how much easier and more enjoyable it is to get work done. It’s called a flow state, and it’s fabulous.
Let's tackle this together and finish off 2022 as our best year yet. Won’t you join me!!!!!?????
x, gretchen
P.S. if you liked this blog post, you’ll love my emails. Click here to subscribe.
Are you sick to death of...
- Feeling like a hamster in a wheel, chasing the latest social media trends?
- Trying (unsuccessfully) to "beat the algorithm" so your social media posts get seen?
- Posting on social media regularly, but not seeing much engagement, or any real increase in profits?
- Knowing you have amazing services and/or products to offer, but struggling to be seen online and getting crickets when you do reach out?
Girl, we need to talk.
Chances are, there's a lot you're doing wrong. I know because I was stuck there for a long time, too. But don't worry, I'm here to help you!
Psst.. are you sick and tired of figuring out what to cook or order for dinner every night?
I was so over it. I tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, and I loved the convenience of the meal kits... but they were so expensive, I just couldn’t justify it. Then I found Dinnerly.
Click here to get a free box from Dinnerly - on me!
Dinnerly has allowed me to take the guess-work out of dinner completely, and quit grocery shopping — which felt like a huge waste of my precious time. But what really sold me on this particular brand is the price. I still can’t believe that Dinnerly meals are only $4.99 per person per meal, and they are literally the exact same thing as Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. (I’m talking the same exact chicken with the same packaging from the same vendor.)
I’ve been using the Dinnerly kits to make dinner for myself and Ham 3 nights a week for the last year, since we started living together. So I can vouch for them that the quality is consistent. In addition to being super affordable, they have so much variety and the meals are incredibly tasty. They have options for vegetarians, pescatarians, as well as low-calorie and low-carb. The meals are pretty healthy and balanced too — you know we eat clean and are a very health conscious couple. Plus you can make them a bit healthier depending on what type of oil you cook with, how much butter or ghee you use, and how much salt you use.
You know I don’t recommend any brands or products that I don’t absolutely love, and I recommend Dinnerly to all my friends.
Related Posts
