The power of time blocks

Not so long ago we heard of "time blocking". We always saw it as too rigid and stiff and always felt like it made us resent the thing we were trying to make into a habit. But a week ago, while watching Ali Abdaal, a junior doctor and productivity youtuber, talk about it in his video My PRODUCTIVE Bucket list (2021), we heard him say how he uses time blocking as making time for the things that matter. And that gave us a whole different perspective on the subject.

Making time for what's important

We are all living very busy lives, where new things to do keep popping up. If we’re not careful, it’s easy to fall into the routine where you’re constantly “putting out fires”, dealing with small daily items. But by doing that, you may deprive yourself of the chance to work on things that would bring a lot of meaning to your life. These things are very often longer projects, the ones not screaming for your attention, so it’s easy to miss them.

Big chunk of time = opportunity for flow

When you take a larger chunk of time in your day to do some work, you also give yourself the opportunity to get into the flow state. The state in which you’re so immersed in the work, time just seems to fly by. If you manage to get to that point, the work feels much easier and becomes more enjoyable. Working in that way becomes a source of satisfaction.

Instead of giving ourselves the opportunity to be focused on our task, we are often constantly interrupted by notifications, emails, calls and other people. Working under those conditions becomes very frustrating, our brains feel scattered and overwhelmed.

So why not change our approach a little bit? We can achieve the same or even more output in the same time, while also feeling good about ourselves instead of being frustrated and anxious.

Plan for next day. On the day stick to it as best as you can. Adjust if needed.

When the moment to act comes, we’re often inclined to procrastinate and put off doing the actual work. When you set a time block for the day, do your best to respect it. Stop doing anything that is not intended for the time block and keep that time sacred for the task at hand. It’s okay to not do the task. Just give yourself permission to also not do anything else.

If you find that you’re struggling always feel free to change your plans. Think about the reasons why you’re facing resistance and adjust accordingly. Change the way you do time blocks next time. We do think it’s valuable to see through the ones you planned the day before.

It's an opportunity, not an obligation

The main reason that changed our mind about time blocking was this: You don't have to actually do any work or work out during that time.

Hear us out: Time blocks are an opportunity, not an obligation. That means that you can do only two actions during the time block: the thing it was intended for or you can sit in silence and wait for the block to be over. This may sound crazy at first - but it works. The block is meant as dedicated time to an important thing in your life, but forcing yourself to be intensely productive during that time can and will backfire over the course of a few weeks. That's why this time is an opportunity. If you feel too tired, that's okay. Just sit there and wait out the time. That means no using your phone, no using your laptop or any other device, no talking to your mates, no eating, no sleeping. This time is only meant for that specific task.

At first you'll think that you won't ever even start, but boy oh boy, boredom can be a powerful motivator. You'll find yourself doing at least a bit of work or whatever the time block is intended for, during that time. And after a while, the habit will grow into something bigger.

But remember: it's always enough just to do nothing at that time. Because like we said: It's just an opportunity.

So what task will you devote a time block to tomorrow?