WEBVTT - Time Blocking Doesn't Work (Until You Do It Right) 0:00:06.610 --> 0:00:10.730 You're listening to I'm Mom with mea podcast. 0:00:13.289 --> 0:00:17.810 Hello, and welcome to biz Your Work Life Sorted. I'm 0:00:17.930 --> 0:00:21.529 m Vernon and today we're diving into something I've personally 0:00:21.570 --> 0:00:25.690 struggled with, time blocking. So you know that feeling when 0:00:25.729 --> 0:00:27.730 you look at your to do list and it feels 0:00:27.770 --> 0:00:31.289 completely overwhelming, or when you're trying to focus on deep 0:00:31.330 --> 0:00:34.890 work but keep getting distracted by Slack messages or emails. 0:00:34.970 --> 0:00:37.930 I have been there so many times, and I'm actually 0:00:37.970 --> 0:00:40.170 supposed to be deep into writing an article right now, 0:00:40.210 --> 0:00:42.570 but here I am instead talking to you, So please 0:00:42.570 --> 0:00:45.490 don't tell my boss. So all of these chaotic habits 0:00:45.530 --> 0:00:47.810 of mine have made me realize that I should probably 0:00:47.930 --> 0:00:51.010 give this time blocking thing another shot and find out 0:00:51.050 --> 0:00:54.530 if I'm actually doing it properly. Today Missions SOF are 0:00:54.570 --> 0:00:57.490 breaking down everything you need to know about time blocking, 0:00:57.650 --> 0:00:59.970 what it actually is, and how to do it without 0:01:00.010 --> 0:01:04.050 feeling like a productivity robot, and most importantly, how to 0:01:04.130 --> 0:01:05.410 make it work for your. 0:01:05.250 --> 0:01:06.330 Life, life and schedule. 0:01:06.810 --> 0:01:10.009 Plus they are joined by productivity expert and artist Debo, 0:01:10.250 --> 0:01:13.209 who completely changed my perspective on how we think about 0:01:13.330 --> 0:01:16.529 organizing our time. Trust me, if you've ever felt like 0:01:16.569 --> 0:01:19.730 you're drowning in tasks or struggling to find focus time. 0:01:19.929 --> 0:01:22.809 This episode is for you, Michelle. 0:01:23.009 --> 0:01:24.729 What's your vibe on time blocking. 0:01:25.130 --> 0:01:26.929 I've heard of it and I felt like maybe it's 0:01:26.929 --> 0:01:28.569 something I should be doing, you know. I feel like 0:01:28.610 --> 0:01:30.369 maybe it's something we felt like we all need to try, 0:01:30.610 --> 0:01:32.490 or like we're missing out on something if we're not 0:01:32.569 --> 0:01:32.929 doing it. 0:01:33.209 --> 0:01:34.610 Yeah, I'm kind of with you. 0:01:34.649 --> 0:01:37.729 Actually, I had heard about it for a long time 0:01:37.770 --> 0:01:39.690 because a lot of the engineers at Google did it, 0:01:40.089 --> 0:01:44.010 and I was always like, yeah, I'm not a productivity person. Like, honestly, 0:01:44.089 --> 0:01:46.929 the word productivity gives me anxiety, Like I hate it. 0:01:46.970 --> 0:01:49.130 I'm actually I'm a really slow operator. 0:01:49.250 --> 0:01:52.090 So I'm that person where someone's standing over your shoulder 0:01:52.130 --> 0:01:53.770 and they're like by your computer and they're like he 0:01:53.809 --> 0:01:55.130 will just pull it up and do it now, just 0:01:55.170 --> 0:01:56.410 like go to the folder and do the thing, and 0:01:56.450 --> 0:01:59.210 I'm like, don't watch me. I'm really slow. So like, 0:01:59.290 --> 0:02:02.210 I'm not a productivity person. But I did notice this 0:02:02.690 --> 0:02:06.970 change that happened where I just did one thing, and 0:02:07.010 --> 0:02:10.210 that was I started spending more time in my calendar 0:02:10.370 --> 0:02:13.330 than I started spending in my inbox, and there was 0:02:13.410 --> 0:02:16.970 just a massive change to how I operated at work, 0:02:17.370 --> 0:02:19.890 and really it came down to I started time blocking, 0:02:19.970 --> 0:02:22.730 but I will say it took me a few gos 0:02:22.770 --> 0:02:24.850 and I still don't think I actually do it right. 0:02:25.090 --> 0:02:26.490 I don't even know if there is a right or 0:02:26.490 --> 0:02:28.530 wrong way. I guess that's what this episode is about 0:02:28.610 --> 0:02:31.210 a little bit. What do other people think? Like you 0:02:31.250 --> 0:02:33.330 went out on social and ask people, Yeah. 0:02:33.130 --> 0:02:35.890 I was curious about this because I would put myself 0:02:35.930 --> 0:02:39.250 in the camp of I've tried it and I couldn't 0:02:39.290 --> 0:02:42.250 commit to it, like it seemed a bit too hard 0:02:42.290 --> 0:02:44.130 to me, or like I needed to spend a lot 0:02:44.170 --> 0:02:48.050 of time sitting down and planning things, yeah, and do 0:02:48.130 --> 0:02:49.850 that over and over, which is just not something I 0:02:49.850 --> 0:02:50.490 can maintain. 0:02:50.930 --> 0:02:53.570 So I asked on my socials if. 0:02:53.410 --> 0:02:56.450 You've tried time blocking, and it's yes, I lived by it, 0:02:56.730 --> 0:03:00.050 tried it, couldn't commit, never tried it, don't know what 0:03:00.050 --> 0:03:03.010 it is. And the winner here was thirty eight percent 0:03:03.010 --> 0:03:05.930 of people said tried it and couldn't commit yeah, and 0:03:06.010 --> 0:03:09.570 then live by it was second with twenty six percent, 0:03:09.970 --> 0:03:12.690 never tried it, twenty one percent and fifteen percent don't 0:03:12.690 --> 0:03:13.210 know what it is. 0:03:13.250 --> 0:03:14.730 Okay, So I think this episode will. 0:03:14.570 --> 0:03:18.130 Be yeah, I am that personal the majority, So yeah, 0:03:18.250 --> 0:03:20.370 definitely tried it felt like it didn't work me. I 0:03:20.410 --> 0:03:22.810 actually tried it several times before I was able to 0:03:22.850 --> 0:03:26.570 get it to stick. But I still was thinking that 0:03:26.850 --> 0:03:29.170 I'm not doing it right and there's something that I'm missing. 0:03:29.210 --> 0:03:31.130 So it's kind of why we wanted to do this 0:03:31.170 --> 0:03:32.690 episode and why we wanted to go out and speak 0:03:32.690 --> 0:03:34.330 to an expert. So I went out and spoke to 0:03:34.370 --> 0:03:37.770 Deb Hoe, and she is an artist and a productivity expert, 0:03:37.810 --> 0:03:41.210 which I think sounds like an oxymoron, like how can 0:03:41.210 --> 0:03:44.330 you be both those things? Creative and organized? But she 0:03:44.850 --> 0:03:48.890 breaks down exactly what time blocking is. And the interesting 0:03:49.010 --> 0:03:51.050 part I thought about this interview Michelle that we're going 0:03:51.090 --> 0:03:54.050 to play in a second. She actually thinks about time 0:03:54.050 --> 0:03:56.130 blocking not just about how it helps you with work, 0:03:56.170 --> 0:03:58.810 but how it helps you with your whole life, which 0:03:58.850 --> 0:04:00.970 I thought was really interesting. And then we're going to 0:04:01.010 --> 0:04:02.290 come back at the end and I'm going to give 0:04:02.570 --> 0:04:05.050 my five really practical tips for how I was able 0:04:05.090 --> 0:04:07.050 to actually get it to stick for me. 0:04:07.290 --> 0:04:07.770 Amazing. 0:04:07.850 --> 0:04:08.250 Can't wait. 0:04:20.330 --> 0:04:23.290 So Deb, there's two camps of people when it comes 0:04:23.330 --> 0:04:26.410 to time blocking. The people who, like I've heard of it, 0:04:26.450 --> 0:04:28.690 but I actually have no idea what it is. And 0:04:28.690 --> 0:04:31.570 then the second camp of people who have heard of 0:04:31.610 --> 0:04:33.969 it and think they're doing it but maybe don't feel 0:04:33.970 --> 0:04:35.850 like they're doing it properly. And I feel like I'm 0:04:35.890 --> 0:04:36.770 in that second camp. 0:04:37.210 --> 0:04:39.130 So to just kind of clear. 0:04:38.930 --> 0:04:42.650 Up the first question, what is time blocking and why 0:04:42.690 --> 0:04:43.850 should we even be doing it? 0:04:44.170 --> 0:04:47.130 Time blocking is a really simple method where you just 0:04:47.170 --> 0:04:51.570 assign tasks to a timeslot during the day. So, for example, 0:04:51.610 --> 0:04:55.490 instead of writing your basic to do list like reading, writing, 0:04:55.930 --> 0:04:59.330 doing the dishes, you actually assign those tasks to a 0:04:59.370 --> 0:05:02.250 specific time, so you would do like nine am is 0:05:02.290 --> 0:05:05.290 your reading time, and then ten am is your writing time, 0:05:05.650 --> 0:05:07.850 and washing the dishes is at five pm. 0:05:07.690 --> 0:05:08.370 Or something like that. 0:05:08.530 --> 0:05:11.770 So it really is just adding a time slot to 0:05:11.970 --> 0:05:13.250 those specific tasks. 0:05:13.570 --> 0:05:16.490 How do you actually decide what tasks you're doing when 0:05:16.570 --> 0:05:18.050 you know, is there a best practice we're meant to 0:05:18.090 --> 0:05:20.010 be following in terms of where we're putting tasks? 0:05:20.330 --> 0:05:23.130 I think it really comes down to like trial and error, 0:05:23.250 --> 0:05:25.850 to be honest, Like, unfortunately a lot of people don't 0:05:25.890 --> 0:05:27.850 find time blocking that useful because they're just like, oh, 0:05:28.010 --> 0:05:30.930 a whole block of the days just work and that's it. 0:05:31.450 --> 0:05:34.290 But generally, I find that it really comes down to 0:05:34.330 --> 0:05:37.849 what you do personally. For example, like I can't exercise 0:05:38.010 --> 0:05:40.610 at night, so I will always put it in the morning. 0:05:41.130 --> 0:05:45.010 And I don't read after like nine am. I only 0:05:45.010 --> 0:05:46.969 read in the morning, so I always put it in 0:05:47.010 --> 0:05:47.849 the morning as well. 0:05:48.210 --> 0:05:49.450 So it really comes down. 0:05:49.290 --> 0:05:52.050 To like what works with your personal lifestyle. Even if 0:05:52.090 --> 0:05:54.450 people say wake up at four am, Like, that's just 0:05:54.490 --> 0:05:57.890 not really viable for everyone. So it's something that really 0:05:57.890 --> 0:05:59.650 comes down to trial and error. You'll pull a few 0:05:59.650 --> 0:06:02.170 things that will be your dream life, but then you'll 0:06:02.210 --> 0:06:05.050 realize really quickly that your life gets in the way, 0:06:05.090 --> 0:06:06.850 and then you have to like kind of move things 0:06:06.850 --> 0:06:08.170 around and test it. 0:06:08.490 --> 0:06:11.050 Okay, So, because this is the kind of trap that 0:06:11.090 --> 0:06:13.969 I have been in before, I wanted to try time blocking, 0:06:14.090 --> 0:06:15.650 and then I tried it, and then I was like, 0:06:15.690 --> 0:06:18.529 it doesn't actually work for me. Then I had this 0:06:18.570 --> 0:06:21.210 sort of moment where I stopped and thought about what 0:06:21.250 --> 0:06:22.969 are the tasks that I'm doing and when is the 0:06:22.970 --> 0:06:24.450 best time of my day to do those tasks. 0:06:24.450 --> 0:06:26.089 So that was a big light bulb moment for me. 0:06:26.490 --> 0:06:28.650 For the listener at home who's never done this before, 0:06:28.690 --> 0:06:31.210 and maybe tried it and it didn't work. How do 0:06:31.250 --> 0:06:34.690 you actually get started in terms of deciding what are 0:06:34.730 --> 0:06:36.770 the better times of day to do certain things. 0:06:37.010 --> 0:06:38.690 Is there any kind of tips that you have for that. 0:06:39.210 --> 0:06:42.890 My main tip is to number one, be very forgiving, 0:06:43.290 --> 0:06:45.570 because it'll be a process, and I think it really 0:06:45.690 --> 0:06:48.850 is based on your energy levels, so you would naturally 0:06:48.890 --> 0:06:51.849 do things that are harder at the beginning of the day. 0:06:52.370 --> 0:06:54.969 Like for me, cleaning through my personal email is like 0:06:55.090 --> 0:06:57.170 very very easy, So I tend to do it at 0:06:57.250 --> 0:06:59.450 night when I'm watching TV because I can kind of 0:06:59.490 --> 0:07:03.370 like splice it with like low energy activities. But if 0:07:03.370 --> 0:07:06.330 something takes a little bit more effort, push it earlier 0:07:06.370 --> 0:07:08.969 to the morning. I would also consider like your work 0:07:09.010 --> 0:07:11.770 day as well. Like some people can go to the 0:07:11.810 --> 0:07:14.210 gym at like eleven am, which is I think crazy 0:07:14.250 --> 0:07:15.770 because it's in the middle of work day and you 0:07:15.810 --> 0:07:18.450 have like meetings and stuff. But like some people really 0:07:18.490 --> 0:07:21.730 can do like an early lunch and do their gym 0:07:21.930 --> 0:07:24.570 routine then and then go straight into any. 0:07:24.450 --> 0:07:25.450 Kind of meeting afterwards. 0:07:25.450 --> 0:07:27.250 So I think it really depends on your own temperament 0:07:27.730 --> 0:07:31.010 and whether or not this is something that you can handle. 0:07:31.530 --> 0:07:34.130 The thing is always just start really really easy and 0:07:34.170 --> 0:07:36.290 slot it in, try it for like a couple of 0:07:36.330 --> 0:07:38.810 weeks and test it to see how viabod is in 0:07:38.850 --> 0:07:42.490 your life. Just keep adding things very slowly. I wouldn't 0:07:42.610 --> 0:07:44.610 rush into anything that sounds good. 0:07:44.650 --> 0:07:45.330 I remember. 0:07:45.370 --> 0:07:48.050 The big aha for me was when I realized that 0:07:48.650 --> 0:07:50.850 my brain is different in the morning to the evening, 0:07:50.930 --> 0:07:54.850 and I can't actually concentrate on deep work in the afternoon. 0:07:55.130 --> 0:07:57.090 So where I used to put all my meetings in 0:07:57.090 --> 0:07:58.730 the morning and then I'd be kind of left to 0:07:58.730 --> 0:08:00.890 work in the afternoon, I completely flipped it and I 0:08:00.930 --> 0:08:04.650 started blocking out my mornings for actual work and time 0:08:04.690 --> 0:08:05.610 blocking all my meeting. 0:08:05.570 --> 0:08:06.250 In the afternoon. 0:08:06.290 --> 0:08:08.250 And that kind of kept my brain engaging anyway because 0:08:08.290 --> 0:08:09.170 I was talking to someone. 0:08:09.290 --> 0:08:11.370 So that was a really big lab on mover for 0:08:11.410 --> 0:08:13.170 me in terms of planning out those blocks. 0:08:13.650 --> 0:08:17.650 So deb someone who's just getting started, they have an 0:08:17.690 --> 0:08:19.890 open calendar, or maybe they've got a few things that 0:08:20.090 --> 0:08:22.370 they're already in that calendar in terms of assigned work 0:08:22.370 --> 0:08:24.770 meetings and things like that, can you actually break down 0:08:24.890 --> 0:08:27.770 the step by step process someone should go through to 0:08:27.930 --> 0:08:29.210 time block their week. 0:08:29.530 --> 0:08:33.610 Generally I would either go digital or paper. I personally 0:08:33.689 --> 0:08:36.010 like writing things down, so I would just take a 0:08:36.050 --> 0:08:37.890 simple piece of paper, blank piece of paper, or you. 0:08:37.850 --> 0:08:39.370 Can use a diary or anything like that. 0:08:40.010 --> 0:08:43.330 What I would generally do is write major tasks that 0:08:43.370 --> 0:08:45.010 you want to get done during the day all the 0:08:45.010 --> 0:08:47.770 week as a list. So first start with a regular 0:08:47.770 --> 0:08:49.370 to do list, which I think a lot of people have, 0:08:50.090 --> 0:08:52.890 and then kind of consider what your priorities are for 0:08:52.930 --> 0:08:55.090 the week. So generally I pick three maximum. 0:08:55.210 --> 0:08:55.770 I try to do. 0:08:55.770 --> 0:08:58.370 Two because I don't want to like overwhelm myself, but 0:08:58.450 --> 0:09:02.050 it's maximum three. Once you kind of consider that, either 0:09:02.090 --> 0:09:04.730 in your calendar or on the paper, you kind of 0:09:04.770 --> 0:09:07.530 write down if you're doing the day. You write down 0:09:07.690 --> 0:09:10.170 time slots from top to bottom, so like when your 0:09:10.210 --> 0:09:12.050 day starts, which some people they want to start from 0:09:12.130 --> 0:09:15.929 nine am, so nine am, ten am, eleven am, twelve pm, 0:09:16.010 --> 0:09:18.090 one pm, all the way down to whenever you want 0:09:18.090 --> 0:09:20.650 to stop your day. And if it's a week thing, 0:09:20.890 --> 0:09:23.850 then you would just do Monday to Friday across the top, 0:09:24.330 --> 0:09:28.770 and then do like morning, afternoon, night slots going down, 0:09:28.810 --> 0:09:31.650 so it's more like a table, and then at that 0:09:31.730 --> 0:09:33.930 point you sort of have like almost like a grid 0:09:34.170 --> 0:09:37.490 of these time slots that you want to put tasks into. 0:09:38.090 --> 0:09:40.410 You just consider how long things will take. So like 0:09:40.850 --> 0:09:43.650 washing the dishes would probably take half an hour, so 0:09:43.770 --> 0:09:45.770 you can give yourself a half an hour time slot 0:09:45.810 --> 0:09:48.970 at like five pm or like after you've eaten, so 0:09:49.090 --> 0:09:52.970 eight pm. Then you assign times like writing might take 0:09:53.250 --> 0:09:56.810 two hours, so you put that task at like eleven am, 0:09:56.890 --> 0:09:59.330 and then you just fill out the time and make 0:09:59.370 --> 0:10:01.170 sure you put breaks in between as well, make sure 0:10:01.170 --> 0:10:03.650 you like slot in lunch and then have all the 0:10:03.730 --> 0:10:04.650 other like things. 0:10:04.530 --> 0:10:06.170 You got to do during the day as well. 0:10:06.450 --> 0:10:06.890 Got it. 0:10:07.130 --> 0:10:09.170 So if you kind of step back and you look 0:10:09.210 --> 0:10:11.530 at your your full day or your full week, should 0:10:11.650 --> 0:10:14.370 every slot of time actually be scheduled? 0:10:14.810 --> 0:10:16.050 I would recommend not to. 0:10:16.370 --> 0:10:19.610 I would just guarantee like certain slots to be put 0:10:19.650 --> 0:10:22.610 in because you need time to be kind of flexy. 0:10:22.770 --> 0:10:24.650 And then as you move through the week or move 0:10:24.690 --> 0:10:27.730 through the day, you realize that like things will change, 0:10:27.730 --> 0:10:30.610 like things will pop up, and if everything's like super rigid, 0:10:30.730 --> 0:10:33.890 you can't really move anything around, and I think that 0:10:33.930 --> 0:10:36.730 causes more stress than what the purpose of it is 0:10:36.770 --> 0:10:40.610 to like alleviate anxiety about tasks. So I would keep 0:10:40.650 --> 0:10:43.210 as much open as possible, and also give yourself off the. 0:10:43.250 --> 0:10:43.890 Time as well. 0:10:44.330 --> 0:10:47.330 You actually realize when you time block that there's so 0:10:47.410 --> 0:10:49.890 much time when you're not like stressing about when to 0:10:49.930 --> 0:10:52.370 do things. If you just say you'll do it, there's 0:10:52.410 --> 0:10:53.809 actually so much time to do things. 0:10:54.050 --> 0:10:56.730 I feel like it's been a very long time since 0:10:56.730 --> 0:10:59.450 I've heard someone say there's so much time to do things. 0:11:00.010 --> 0:11:00.930 I love that. Thank you. 0:11:01.130 --> 0:11:03.929 I already feel more calm talking to you. How about 0:11:03.930 --> 0:11:06.290 the traps people get into? So who think they've tried 0:11:06.330 --> 0:11:08.170 this and they're like, it didn't actually work for me. 0:11:08.490 --> 0:11:10.569 What are some of the things that people actually get wrong. 0:11:10.930 --> 0:11:13.330 The main thing that people get wrong about time blocking 0:11:13.570 --> 0:11:18.010 is just getting too stressed about making everything perfect and 0:11:18.050 --> 0:11:22.170 creating this really rigid schedule. And I myself am such 0:11:22.170 --> 0:11:25.370 a big perfectionist and I want things to go exactly 0:11:25.410 --> 0:11:28.130 as I plan them, but obviously that never happens, and 0:11:28.170 --> 0:11:30.250 you kind of realize that with age, you're like, you. 0:11:30.170 --> 0:11:31.290 Can't control everything. 0:11:31.690 --> 0:11:35.210 The biggest mistake really is that people don't do something 0:11:35.250 --> 0:11:37.010 and then they feel like they're failure off for not 0:11:37.050 --> 0:11:38.610 doing it, And I. 0:11:38.530 --> 0:11:41.010 Think that's totally not the case. I think it's a 0:11:41.010 --> 0:11:41.410 trial and. 0:11:41.410 --> 0:11:44.050 Error, as I said a bit earlier, and I think 0:11:44.170 --> 0:11:48.290 generally people do have to also assess whether or not 0:11:48.650 --> 0:11:51.610 the task that they want to do is important to them. 0:11:51.850 --> 0:11:54.450 Like two years ago, I tried to put reading in 0:11:54.490 --> 0:11:56.410 my time block for the longest time, and I. 0:11:56.410 --> 0:11:56.930 Never did it. 0:11:56.930 --> 0:11:58.890 I'd always be like, I've got other things to do, 0:11:59.050 --> 0:12:02.050 it's not important. Then I feel guilty about skipping it. 0:12:02.370 --> 0:12:05.010 But then I realized that reading was just not important 0:12:05.050 --> 0:12:07.090 for me at that time, and I just let go 0:12:07.130 --> 0:12:08.730 of that, and I was like, I'll go back to 0:12:08.810 --> 0:12:10.730 it when I have the time to do it. And 0:12:10.850 --> 0:12:13.290 now I read like almost every day because I've I 0:12:13.330 --> 0:12:15.650 want to do it. Personally, I think people try to 0:12:15.650 --> 0:12:17.570 force things that they want to do in the day 0:12:17.610 --> 0:12:20.010 when actually it goes against their values or it goes 0:12:20.010 --> 0:12:22.570 against their lifestyle. And that's more of a deeper thing 0:12:22.610 --> 0:12:25.010 than just like time blocking as a method. It really 0:12:25.050 --> 0:12:27.650 is like you have to look within yourself. That sounds 0:12:27.650 --> 0:12:30.490 so cheesy, but like there are things that people gravitate 0:12:30.530 --> 0:12:33.410 towards because they want to do it, and there's things 0:12:33.490 --> 0:12:37.650 that they procrastinate for years and years because they actually 0:12:37.690 --> 0:12:40.330 shouldn't be doing it. Like exercising is like a really 0:12:40.370 --> 0:12:42.490 good example, like people say I need to go to 0:12:42.530 --> 0:12:44.850 the gym, but they never do for me. I don't 0:12:44.850 --> 0:12:47.970 go to the gym because I do swimming, I do tennis, 0:12:48.090 --> 0:12:50.930 I walk every day and that's the easiest way for 0:12:50.970 --> 0:12:51.730 me to exercise. 0:12:52.050 --> 0:12:53.929 And it really is less. 0:12:53.730 --> 0:12:56.730 About the time blocking and more about what you have 0:12:56.810 --> 0:12:59.730 the motivation to do in general outside of time blocking. 0:13:00.090 --> 0:13:01.330 That's a really important point. 0:13:01.450 --> 0:13:04.130 I think it's not actually going to work to get 0:13:04.130 --> 0:13:05.770 you to do something by just putting it in your 0:13:05.810 --> 0:13:08.250 calendar and having a reminder set up, So it's really 0:13:08.250 --> 0:13:11.809 about time blocking is actually stopping and thinking and deciding 0:13:11.850 --> 0:13:13.929 what do I want to do on my day, allocating 0:13:14.090 --> 0:13:16.330 a realistic amount of time to do those things, and 0:13:16.370 --> 0:13:18.850 then trying to reduce some of the friction. So one 0:13:18.850 --> 0:13:21.410 thing I think is really important for people to think 0:13:21.450 --> 0:13:24.929 about when they're doing their time block planning is reducing 0:13:25.090 --> 0:13:28.290 the context switching time. How do you actually order and 0:13:28.330 --> 0:13:31.130 group some of your tasks together to remove some friction 0:13:31.410 --> 0:13:34.530 and deb can you tell us what context switching is? 0:13:34.730 --> 0:13:39.370 Context switching really is just moving from a different task 0:13:39.410 --> 0:13:42.610 to another that is so significantly different it takes your brain. 0:13:42.850 --> 0:13:44.730 Like I think I read somewhere. 0:13:44.730 --> 0:13:46.730 I'm not sure if it's accurate, but about twenty three 0:13:46.810 --> 0:13:49.930 minutes of your time to really emotionally move from one 0:13:49.970 --> 0:13:52.690 task to the other. For me, once I figured that out, 0:13:52.770 --> 0:13:54.650 or like when someone told me that, that really blew 0:13:54.690 --> 0:13:57.210 my mind because you kind of waste that time easing 0:13:57.210 --> 0:14:00.490 into the next task. So generally, it's best to group 0:14:00.650 --> 0:14:03.010 similar tasks together. So you want to have all your 0:14:03.050 --> 0:14:04.970 meanings kind of in the morning or in the afternoon, 0:14:05.090 --> 0:14:08.250 so that you have focused time in writing or like 0:14:08.730 --> 0:14:12.770 doing emails all in one go. Generally, like emails and 0:14:12.810 --> 0:14:15.330 admin is like one kind of group of tasks, and 0:14:15.330 --> 0:14:18.530 then like writing all like creative work is like one 0:14:18.570 --> 0:14:20.450 type of task as well, So you want to group 0:14:20.490 --> 0:14:23.530 those altogether so your energy levels are kind of similar 0:14:23.530 --> 0:14:27.090 for that type of task. Personally, I find it really 0:14:27.130 --> 0:14:31.490 important to smush everything together to make sure that everything 0:14:31.890 --> 0:14:33.970 is kind of flowing with each other, and then I 0:14:34.010 --> 0:14:35.290 have a break and then I move on to a 0:14:35.330 --> 0:14:36.250 different type of task. 0:14:36.490 --> 0:14:39.490 For the people listening, this is it right, This is why, 0:14:39.810 --> 0:14:41.690 because you know, you might think I can plan some 0:14:41.690 --> 0:14:43.410 stuff in a calendar that's not really going to change 0:14:43.410 --> 0:14:45.850 my life. But the point is that because if you 0:14:45.890 --> 0:14:48.770 don't plan things, you're actually wasting so much time as 0:14:48.810 --> 0:14:52.050 you switch between different projects and context and tasks. And 0:14:52.090 --> 0:14:54.130 if you are able to do a little bit of 0:14:54.170 --> 0:14:57.170 forward planning, you can actually reduce that context switching time 0:14:57.250 --> 0:14:58.770 and you can get a lot of time back in 0:14:58.810 --> 0:15:01.050 your day and also just helps your brain work better. 0:15:01.290 --> 0:15:02.850 A lot of people listening work in a sort of 0:15:02.850 --> 0:15:05.450 office corporate environment, and you know, say you're working on 0:15:05.650 --> 0:15:07.890 three different projects. I've seen a lot of leaders try 0:15:07.890 --> 0:15:10.810 to have specific days for different projects, and so your 0:15:10.850 --> 0:15:13.170 head's just really in this one project in that day, 0:15:13.410 --> 0:15:15.050 and then as much as possible you can try and 0:15:15.250 --> 0:15:17.610 work on the other project and book the meetings around 0:15:17.650 --> 0:15:18.770 for that next day as well. 0:15:19.050 --> 0:15:20.930 One trap that a lot of us getting. 0:15:20.730 --> 0:15:23.130 To is that if you work in an office, your 0:15:23.210 --> 0:15:26.290 time's not necessarily your own. There's people putting meetings in, 0:15:26.370 --> 0:15:28.530 there's people hanging you on Slack and they're like, can 0:15:28.570 --> 0:15:30.850 you do this thing? Do you have any any tips 0:15:30.850 --> 0:15:33.730 for how people can protect their blocks of time that 0:15:33.770 --> 0:15:35.050 they've actually scheduled. 0:15:35.410 --> 0:15:39.490 It really is like setting probably a no meeting Friday, which. 0:15:39.370 --> 0:15:41.170 We do at work, which is pretty. 0:15:40.930 --> 0:15:44.050 Good, and everyone really honors that and we kind of 0:15:44.090 --> 0:15:46.850 make sure everything is like in my Thursday, I think 0:15:46.890 --> 0:15:50.210 setting a time during the week or even like an afternoon. 0:15:50.570 --> 0:15:52.890 A lot of my workmates they put in that do 0:15:52.970 --> 0:15:56.810 not schedule time period, which like really cannot budge unless 0:15:56.850 --> 0:16:00.090 it's like so important, and I think everyone really respects that. 0:16:00.410 --> 0:16:02.570 I think it's really like having conversations with the people 0:16:02.610 --> 0:16:05.730 around you and also having like more understanding across the 0:16:05.770 --> 0:16:08.970 whole team that the afternoon or a certain time of 0:16:09.050 --> 0:16:12.130 date is protected for, just like quiet time. 0:16:12.370 --> 0:16:14.930 The other thing is just making sure you're putting in 0:16:14.970 --> 0:16:17.610 your certain end times in your calendar, so like at 0:16:17.610 --> 0:16:19.850 this time I'm commuting, I don't take calls or respond 0:16:19.890 --> 0:16:22.570 to messages, and then also including some of your boundaries 0:16:22.570 --> 0:16:23.570 in your signature as well. 0:16:23.570 --> 0:16:25.010 I know a lot of people will say. 0:16:24.810 --> 0:16:27.050 You know, I only check emails twice a day, and 0:16:27.090 --> 0:16:29.450 they'll even block those in their calendar that says, you know, 0:16:29.490 --> 0:16:31.330 this is the time I'm checking emails and responding to 0:16:31.330 --> 0:16:34.690 slack messages. These times do not disturb. Yeah, it's about 0:16:34.970 --> 0:16:37.130 having boundaries and trying to be consistent, but then having 0:16:37.130 --> 0:16:38.570 a little bit of flexibility as well. 0:16:38.930 --> 0:16:41.610 Yeah, because there'll be times when like things are like 0:16:41.890 --> 0:16:45.010 have to be moved around, and it'll be good like 0:16:45.170 --> 0:16:47.610 to have that flexibility. But in general, I think, like 0:16:48.130 --> 0:16:51.450 across the whole team, it's generally very like much agreed 0:16:51.570 --> 0:16:54.210 that there are certain times that like cannot be touched. 0:16:54.490 --> 0:16:59.050 Having that freedom in general, like across the whole workplace, 0:16:59.290 --> 0:17:02.130 just makes people want to be flexible when the time 0:17:02.290 --> 0:17:10.010 requires it. 0:17:13.250 --> 0:17:16.690 So I will just say everyone's jobs are different, right, 0:17:16.730 --> 0:17:18.290 and we are not saying that time blocking is going 0:17:18.330 --> 0:17:20.810 to work for everyone, And a lot of people have 0:17:20.850 --> 0:17:22.649 the type of job where their day is just not 0:17:22.730 --> 0:17:25.890 their own. If you don't plan your day, other people's 0:17:25.890 --> 0:17:28.129 priorities will plan your day for you. So it's just 0:17:28.170 --> 0:17:30.730 about getting on the front foot with your time, which 0:17:30.770 --> 0:17:33.050 is so precious. So if you can just do a 0:17:33.090 --> 0:17:35.050 little bit of planning, you can get on the front foot. 0:17:35.050 --> 0:17:40.609 And it's actually I've found very anxiety reducing to know 0:17:40.930 --> 0:17:44.250 that you're getting through things. I'll share some tips in 0:17:44.290 --> 0:17:46.649 a minute, but I've actually found the whole process. It 0:17:46.690 --> 0:17:49.290 feels like more work, but it actually can if you 0:17:49.330 --> 0:17:52.609