<html><head></head><body>Time blocking is the practice of planning out every moment of your day in advance and dedicating specific time "blocks" for certain tasks and responsibilities. <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.rescuetime.com/time-blocking-101/&amp;text=While%20a%20standard%20to-do%20list%20tells%20you%20what%20you%20need%20to%20do%2C%20time%20blocking%20tells%20you%20when%20you%E2%80%99re%20going%20to%20do%20it.&amp;via=RescueTime&amp;related=RescueTime">While a standard to-do list tells you what you need to do, time blocking tells you when you're going to do it. </a></body></html>

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.

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

Whitney