A few weeks ago I published an article regarding Task Management, one of the most life changing practices that you can implement.
I look forward to getting feedback from those of you who have committed to developing this behaviour. Well, I have another piece of glue to ensure that you make this new behaviour stick and this is time blocking.
Do you time block at least weekly? At all?
The actions that we take every day determine our outcomes. We are constantly challenged towards a reactive approach to life and business: the path of least resistance. So not only should you develop the proactive activity scheduling behaviour, you should also time block. I like to think of three categories of time blocking:
[1] Strategic or long-term blocks = dedicate a solid 2 to 3 hours of time for this. This time should be when you are completely free of distractions, naturally most energised, creative and productive. Your entire focus should be based on those important, non-urgent tasks such as planning or brain storming on strategy.
[2] Reactive blocks = these are your deliberate “throw away” time blocks. It is often nearly impossible to completely rid yourself of those non-important or low pay-off tasks, so dedicate some deliberate time to them. This could either be, say, 30 minutes a day or an afternoon and morning session. Every situation will be different, but if you have a team around you, they will quickly realize that this is their time to spam you and this leaves you free of “spam” for the rest of your productive day.
[3] Break-out blocks = every sharp axe gets blunt over time as does “all work and no play”. Having regular, pre-planned break-out blocks is essential for keeping you in your “A” game. These blocks should occur in both your normal work hours and after work hours.
In between these 3 blocked out time categories you need to proactively schedule your routine work functions: such as: calling customers, doing interviews, visiting suppliers, networking etc. Why does time blocking work? Firstly, it only works if you make it a behaviour, so stick to it for at least 66 days in a row, working at it every day. You will change your behaviour and increase your productivity significantly and achieve 80+% of the activities that you set yourself every day!
Success begets success. Create success.
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