This might sound like you're turning your calendar into a chaotic mess. However, it can actually have the opposite effect. When you fill your calendar with the tasks and things you want to do, it's harder for others to steal your time. As behavioral designer, <a href="https://blog.rescuetime.com/nir-eyal-digital-distraction/">Nir Eyal told us </a>: "In this day and age you cannot call something distracting unless you know what it's distracting you from." The simple reason why time blocking works is that it's designed for focus.

The human brain needs guardrails at work. Otherwise, we fall into what's known as Parkinson's Law: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" By scheduling every minute of your day you not only <a href="https://blog.rescuetime.com/workplace-distractions/">guard against distraction </a>but also multiply your focus. <a href="https://blog.rescuetime.com/single-tasking/">Single-tasking </a>-focusing on one task at a time-can make you up to 80% more productive than splitting your attention across multiple tasks. Plus, when you know you have time set aside later for checking email or replying to Slack messages you're less likely to give into the FOMO these tools create.

As Deep Work author Cal Newport <a href="http://www.calnewport.com/blog/2013/12/21/deep-habits-the-importance-of-planning-every-minute-of-your-work-day/?utm_source=zapier.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=zapier">writes </a>: "Sometimes people ask why I bother with such a detailed level of planning. My answer is simple: it generates a massive amount of productivity. A 40-hour time-blocked work week, I estimate, produces the same amount of output as a 60+ hour work week pursued without structure." This isn't to say that time blocking is a perfect solution, however. In fact, there are a lot of reasons why you wouldn't want to block out your daily schedule:

You can probably count on your fingers the number of times you've completed 8 hours of work in an 8-hour workday. Whether it's endless meetings, constant emails, or coworkers popping in for a "quick chat," your productivity rarely makes it through the day.

Time blocking 101: A step-by-step guide to mastering your daily schedule

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