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.

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. The problem is that when you design your to-do list for an 8-hour workday but end up with just 1-2 hours of productive time, you're going to be in trouble. But to-do lists aren't the only way you can organize your daily schedule. Some of the world's most productive people, from Elon Musk to Bill Gates to Deep Work author Cal Newport have sworn off to-do lists in favor of something else: Time blocking .

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

Antônio Dantas