You can make use of a time blocking template in order to become more efficient in time management. A time blocking document allows you to manage your time wisely. Thus, you can accomplish more and you might even have spare time left for other things.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is time blocking?
- 2 Types of time blocking templates:
- 3 How to make a block schedule?
- 4 Why should you use a time blocking template?
- 5 The benefits of time blocking:
- 6 Conclusion:
- 7 Faqs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is time blocking?
The time blocking template is a technique used for time management. It helps you prioritize, organize, and schedule your activities and tasks using blocks. With the help of this technique, you can create plans for an entire day, a week, or even a month.
In the block schedule template, the blocks put into practice the idea of time limits. When it comes to deadlines, they are very flexible. This indicates that you can always make adjustments to your tasks as required.
Types of time blocking templates:
Let us discuss below the most common types of time blocking templates;
Daily Planners
Daily planners are the most common types of block schedule planner. In this planner, you have each of your days divided into separate time blocks that you fill with tasks. Furthermore, making decisions about your priorities is very essential. This helps you in determining what to block first. Here are examples of daily planner templates;
15-minute planner:
This type of daily planner consists of 15-minutes interval. This is the perfect time template in case you have a hectic schedule and you have to perform a several number of small tasks throughout the day.
30-minute planner:
It has 30-minute interval and you can find it more ideal in case you think 15-minute planner is too detailed. It can be used to pay attention on a large number of small tasks.
24-hour planner:
It contains 1-hour intervals. The 1st half of the day consists of standard working hours. On the other hand, the 2nd half of the day is suitable for freelancers who work at night.
Weekly planners
When planning your time, if you want to look at the bigger picture, this time management template is ideal. Here, you can divide the time blocks into the days of the week. It is essential to consider your priorities. It helps you in selecting what you want to block first. Likewise the daily templates, these also have to-do list as well as a part for adding comments and notes.
5-day planner:
It consists of a 5-day work week and every day is divided into 1-hour intervals. This weekly planner is suitable for regular employees and freelancers who want block time for work.
7-day planner:
This planner has a 7-day work week and every day is divided into 1-hour intervals. This weekly planner is suitable for regular employees and freelancers who want block time for work.
Biweekly planner:
This planner has a two-week time period and divide across 14 separate days. Those who are working on small projects and require time blocking over a longer period of time, it is suitable for them.
Monthly planners
You can use this planner for large projects you want to schedule and monitor. Across one or many months, the time block span. It helps you in providing a broad perspective on what you require to schedule a time for. Templates of this type are also effective while making or implementing plans for your professional and career development, when you have to manage a bigger workload.
In addition, you can also involve a to-do list to set your priorities. You can also write down your goals as these templates cover longer time periods. This helps you in feeling encouraged and inspired to stick with your time blocks in the long run. Some examples of these templates are the following;
Monthly planner (with daily intervals):
This planner is broken down into 31-day time periods. This planner proves useful for in case you have a deadline for a specific project by the end of a month.
3-month planner (with daily intervals):
This template is broken down into three 31-day time periods. In case, you have a big project or you’re working hard then this planner works well.
Yearly planner template (with monthly or daily intervals)
You can divide this template into a time period of 12 months broken down into 31, 30, and 29 days corresponding to the number of days in each month. This is a very lengthy template. When you are completing it, it takes a lot of time to think about. If you know how to plan long-term tasks, this is so ideal.
How to make a block schedule?
For time management, the use of a time blocking template can be a powerful strategy. It is particularly true when you consider it as a framework for thinking about your day rather than a set of laws that you can break. When creating your tie chunking template, you should consider the below guidelines;
Begin with high-level priorities
At first, you should ask yourself why you have to use a block calendar template. Knowing your reason provides you a better idea of your high-level goals and priorities. This will be your foundation in making your block calendar template and how you will block your day.
According to the time you require, block your tasks
It is time to make your “time blocks,” after setting your priorities. You should begin with the tasks outside your work instead of diving right into your workday. For example, you can ask the following questions from yourself;
- What is my daily morning routine?
- To make time for my personal life, how will I disconnect from work?
Moreover, keep in mind that these activities are just as essential as what you do at work throughout the day.
For both simple and complex tasks, set time
When you have taken care of your personal priorities, you have to use the similar approach with your work-related tasks. For most people, for doing focused work, the appeal of this technique is in setting aside long periods of time.
Include blocks for all of your reactive tasks
Keep in mind that the concept of time blocking will never work if you become overly optimistic about your time. You will have to hold responsibility for the other parts of your job aside from what you have scheduled. This includes making calls, answering emails, and attending meetings.
The power of time blocking comes in when you select when to do these tasks instead of enabling them to infiltrate every part of your day.
Make your to-do lists and fill them in
If you’re satisfied with the template you have made, explain how you’d like your day to look like. Also, it is time to put it to the test and check if it works. Write your tasks for the day. After that, enter them into the corresponding slots.
Now, you have to check whether you have enough slots for all of your work tasks that includes the simple and complex ones. Remember that this is a framework. It means it’s not set in stone. Additionally, it will take some time to find the perfect schedule that will work for you.
Why should you use a time blocking template?
Here are the reasons that why you should use this template;
- When you use a time blocking planner, start organizing your tasks with the most important ones. Most of your attention and time would be devoted to these activities. Also, you will learn to assign and estimate time in advance for larger projects.
- In case, you are making a time blocking planner for the first time then by using this tool, it’s become easier for you to improve your work potential. The wise planners make use of a great strategy to divide your tasks into small steps.
- You need time to pay attention to accomplish a task and for this purpose, time blocking uses effective time management techniques. It informs you that it’s time to work so the risk of distractions get reduced.
The benefits of time blocking:
Here are some of the benefits of time blocking;
Multitasking
Business owners have many responsibilities to which they have to deal with. If you have a lot of tasks to do, you may forget some of them. But, with the help of time blocking sheet, you master multitasking and the distractions that stop you from getting work done get reduced.
More control
You can feel more in control throughout the day by time blocking. You can’t feel overwhelmed and stressed out by using time blocking template as you know exactly what task you’re completing and when.
Time management
The best time management method is making use of the time blocking technique. It helps you in improving the efficiency of your workday. You may neglect your important priorities when you have a lot of tasks to complete. But, when you use a time blocking template, you can plan your days well.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, a time blocking template is a time managing tool that provides you spare time for your priorities. By using this technique, you don’t waste your time on trivial tasks. The time blocking is considered a powerful strategy for time management. You can pinpoint your goals and pursue them by using this template.
Faqs (Frequently Asked Questions)
You can block time on paper in case planning out your schedule digitally isn’t your thing. A planner is required with a calendar and some colored pens to color code.
Grace Harry is an experienced freelance writer with an experience for 12+ years. She got her Master’s in Financial Management degree from the University of Dennison in 2007. She worked at California State Bank to help clients with their credit, investments, and bank accounts. She likes to assist people in reaching their financial goals when it comes to financial planning.
