Budgeting Your Time With Time Blocks

With the new year and my goals in place, I’ve been thinking about how to actually get things done that I’ve set out to do. Obviously, the key to that would be to find the best way to manage my time on a weekly and daily basis.

I’ve tried several different techniques and ideas and I’ve found that the most effective, realistic way for me to manage my time is by planning my week with time blocks. This really isn’t anything new. I remember learning this back in college when I took a study skills class. The main premise is that you have to budget your time the same way you budget your money.

Everyone has a limited amount of money, but infinite ways to spend it. The same goes for your time. We have a limited number of hours each week, yet we have about a million things we’d like to do.

If you’re frustrated with how you can’t seem to get to all the things that are important to you, why not join me in trying “time blocking”. Let’s balance our schedule by looking at it like a budget. Here’s how:

The first thing you need is a great visual tool to help you see your week. Some people love to do this on their computer, but I personally prefer an actual paper planner. It’s fun, pretty, and I can easily add or subtract things as I go. I also like to write things in with pencil so I can erase instead of crossing out with pen. I like to keep it pretty, as much as possible. Go to an office supply or craft store for lots of options.

If you’re at the store and wondering which planner to get, I recommend that you get one with a monthly view and a week on 2 pages format. The reason the week on 2 pages format is important is because that will work best for the “time blocking” method that we’re going to do. I also prefer each day to go vertically. That’s just my preference, and I think it works best for this. Once you’ve got a nice planner that fits your personality, with a monthly view, weekly views on 2 pages, with days running vertically, run to the checkout and then we’ll continue back at home.

This is my planner with the weekly page view. It’s the Create 365 Happy Planner and it makes me very happy. As you can see, each day is divided into thirds. This works perfect for me.

Now that you’re back home, open your planner to this week. You’ve got 7 days to work with. To “time block”, you divide up each day into blocks. For me, the easiest way to “time block”, is to divide up each day into thirds:

Morning: 9 a.m. – noon
Afternoon 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Evening 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

This makes each “time block” nice and neat and allows breaks for lunch and dinner. Remember that when you plan your week into time blocks, you have a limited number of time blocks. If you don’t have an empty block for something you want to do, then you realistically don’t have time to do it. You either have to substitute it with something else in your schedule or delete it. It’s just like a financial budget. You can’t spend what you don’t have.

STEPS TO BUDGETING YOUR WEEK

Fill in your commitments you must keep, such as work, school, family commitments, appointments, or social events.
Then, write a list of typical weekly chores such as errands, grocery shopping, phone calls, paying bills, and cleaning.
With your list of weekly chores, decide how long each will take and assign each chore to a specific time block in your weekly schedule. Some things are best for certain days such as doing errands after work or an appointment. I like to prioritize my list and put the top priority chore on the first available time block in the week to make sure it gets done.
Remember to add in family and personal time. For me, this is usually on the weekends and evenings. Just make sure it happens by putting it in the schedule.
You now should have your weekly schedule divided up into blocks of time. If you have empty blocks of time, you’ve got room to add more chores or fun stuff. If you have more chores than room in the schedule, you’ll have to make some tough choices. Time is limited!
Remember to leave margin in your schedule. For each 3 hour time block, I try to leave a margin of about 30 minutes. That gives me time to finish each thing with a few minutes to breathe before moving on. Besides a margin for each time block, I’m making Friday afternoons a BIG margin. Why? That’s my time block for just finishing up all weekly chores before the weekend. That has been a game-changer for me.
If your weeks are typically the same every week, try writing out an ideal week for you, and then when you plan your week, just plan according to the ideal week. If you have something unusual thrown in, you just move your time blocks around to make room, and you’ll still get things done for the week.

Now, with your ideal week divided up into time blocks, you should have a nice balanced schedule to get your most important things done and even have a margin. Now, that sounds like a stress free, productive week!

Let me know how this works for you, and I’ll have updates on how it’s working for me.

Have a great week!