Elon Musk divides the whole day into blocks (parts) of 5 minutes. It is already decided which 5-minute block to use for which work. To begin with, start blocking an hour or half an hour of your time for a task using the tips below.
Tips for Time Blocking
1. Set your priorities.
Why do you want to block your time?
- to make most of your day.
- to maintain work-life balance.
- to get things done on time.
2. Create a "template" for your day.
Block the times outside work too.
- 7 to 8 am shower/breakfast.
- 8 to 9 am - writing.
- 8 pm to 9 pm - family time.
- 10 pm to 6 am sleeping time.
3. List down your tasks.
- Write down your to-do list for tomorrow, today itself.
- Assign time for work/home/family/social.
4. Categorize your tasks.
Identify
- Tasks that need deep work.
- Tasks that need shallow work.
- Tasks that are high priority.
5. Block your calendar based on the above tasks.
- Put the tasks that need deep work/high priority as the first thing in your day or after your breaks.
- Add the tasks with shallow work after the deep work ones.
6. Schedule breaks and buffers.
- Place buffers to handle some spilling tasks and also add breaks between.
- It will be too tough to concentrate throughout the day.
7. Revisit your calendar and the actual events of the day.
- Every day, check to which extent your time blocking worked.
- the pace you work?
- the order you prioritize?
- the time assigned was sufficient?
Next day, adjust your time blocks accordingly.
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