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Focus Week: Take Control of Your Time - Study Hacks
Problems with the list/reactive time management methods
- With the reactive method, you let other people's needs drive your activities. You feel busy and exhausted, but not really getting important tasks done.
- Because you have no plan besides trying to get things done, your brain keeps looking for "breaks," which have a way of decreasing the total amount of work you're able to accomplish.
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The time blocking method
When thinking about our workday, we should give every minute a job. This technique is called time blocking.
Most people generally approach their workday with a list of tasks where they fill the time between scheduled meetings and calls reacting to emails. When the mood strikes, they try to make progress on tasks on their list. By contrast, the time blocking method breaks your day into blocks of time and assign specific work to these blocks.
The time blocking method gives you control
- With the time blocking method, you control the balance between the urgent and the important.
- Because you know what you're supposed to be doing, you're less likely to take unplanned breaks.
- You know exactly how much time you really have available, and how long tasks will take.
The time blocking strategy is cognitively demanding
Those who use this strategy get so much more done because their average intensity of focus is very high.
You do not want to extend this block discipline to your time outside of work, as this intensity will lead to burn out. A life of focus also needs time to reflect, and a commitment to direct your free time toward rewarding activities.
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Time blocking and focus
By scheduling every minute of your day you not only guard against distraction but also multiply your focus.
Also, focusing on one task at a time can make you up to 80% more productive than splitting your attention across multiple tasks.
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 can destroy your system.
- Flexibility is key in most workplaces.
- You can lose sight of the bigger picture if you focus just on each day.
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