- It takes a lot of time and effort. Scheduling each minute of your day means... scheduling every minute of your day. It's a much more labor-intensive system than just writing out the 4 or 5 tasks you need to complete.
- Few of us (if any) have the same schedule every day. Time blocking is much easier when you have a clear set of tasks. However, most of us need to constantly adapt to requests and demands.
- We're bad at estimating how long tasks will take to do. We all have a tendency to be overoptimistic with how much we can get done in a day (psychologists call this the Planning Fallacy ). It can be disheartening (and stressful ) when you feel like you're constantly behind your schedule.
- Constant interruptions and "urgent" tasks can destroy your system. Relying on upfront planning means that when one thing goes wrong, the whole system breaks down.
- Flexibility is key in most workplaces. You can't tell your boss that you won't be able to get that urgent fix out today because it's not on your calendar. A strict schedule like this doesn't always jive with the demands of your workplace.
- You can lose sight of the bigger picture. Focusing just on each day can sometimes make it harder to think about making progress on your long-term goals.
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Cons of the time blocking practice
- It takes a lot of time and effort.
- Few of us (if any) have the same schedule every day.
- We’re bad at estimating how long tasks will take to do.
- Constant interruptions and “urgent” tasks
Counterbalance your worst tendencies
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The Eisenhower Matrix productivity method lets you consider the urgency and importance of each task. This method breaks tasks into four quadrants and prescribes how we should deal with tasks in each block.
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