I’ve written a lot about strategies to better manage our time.
The strategies of batching and blocking time are particularly effective.
The concept of batching involves putting like work together.
Maybe some emails in one batch.
Phone calls in another.
Deep work in a third.
I even wrote about focus days or segments of the week for various projects.
Yet, I find it helpful to continue to be reminded of ideas and practices.
Time Block Reminders
There are two podcasts I listened to a while ago that reminded me of the power of time blocks.
The first was an episode of Before Breakfast where Laura interviewed Charlie Gilkey.
Charlie suggested leveraging four types of time blocks:
- Focus Blocks – This is where deep work happens.
- Social Blocks – Good times for “peopling” (having meetings & social time)
- Administration Blocks – All the little things – email & phone calls
- Recovery – No set time duration or activity that accomplishes it.
The one that struck me was the title of “administration” block.
For me, this becomes a more intentional way of clearing email & phone calls.
With a block titled “email”, I often find myself deleting but not responding/progressing.
I think the title “administration” would make me more productive in those blocks.
The second reminder was an episode of Happier in Hollywood.
Liz and Sarah discussed how they had used time batching and how well it worked.
Their approach was more like my post on focus days.
They have only tried it once so far, but the results have them looking toward their next session.
Your Turn
Do you regularly batch and block your time?
What techniques work best (or might work best) for you?
Could you get a focused block of time into your day today?