Here's how to time block your calendar for a productivity boost

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You’ve heard it before: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

This means that if you want to achieve something, you can’t just say, “I’m going to do X.” You have to tell the universe what you want to do and actually commit to it.

For example, if you want to lose weight, you have to say to yourself, “I’m going to work out for an hour three times a week.” You have to write it down in your calendar and block the time.

This is why time blocking is the number one habit of top performers.

If you want to be a top performer in your personal life and career, you need to be able to manage your time well so that it works in your favor.

Here are 12 ways to time block your calendar to work more effectively.

Get Specific About Your Goals

Time blocking is about getting more done, not just working out when you “have to” work out.

You want to block time for the specific tasks you need to get done.

That means you need to be specific about your goals.

How do you know what to block off your calendar?

By writing everything down.

For example, in order to lose weight, you need to write down that you’re going to exercise for an hour three times a week.

You can also write down your goals for your day, week, month, and year.

The point is to figure out what you need to do and then block out the time.

Prioritize

The key to time blocking is to make sure your priorities don’t get in the way.

Sometimes, people are too busy to actually do their work. Even when it’s important, it gets pushed aside because of the big projects that are also important.

This is why it’s important not to let any projects or tasks get in the way of your time blocking.

Make sure you don’t schedule your time blocking over your time blocking.

This will ensure you don’t have to choose between spending time with your family or working out.

It’s about setting boundaries and prioritizing your time in order to get the most out of the day.

Create a Blocking Calendar

Once you’ve listed all your goals and prioritized what needs to get done, you can start to figure out how to time block your calendar.

One of the best ways to do that is to make a blocking calendar. This means creating a calendar that has the date, time, and how much time you’ll be blocking off into each day.

Create an Event on Your Calendar

As you’re making your blocking calendar, you’ll need to include something that will act as a reminder.

This could be a specific alarm on your phone, a recurring calendar entry for a specific time, or a recurring event on your calendar.

You want to be able to block off time for your time blocking, so make sure to include this on your calendar.

Block Off Time for Email

One of the best ways to have a productive day is to limit the time you spend on your email.

By blocking off time for your email, you’ll be able to get more out of the day.

You don’t want to spend your entire day responding to emails. If anything, it’s a waste of time.

Instead, you want to be able to check your email during specific times. You can do this by creating recurring calendar entries for the time you want to check your email.

Create a “No Distractions” Zone

When you’re working on your time blocking, it’s important to create a “no distractions” zone.

This means creating a specific place that you can go to do your time blocking.

This could be a specific room in your house, a corner in your office, or even a specific location on your phone.

Your goal is to create a space where you’ll be able to focus on your task at hand.

Schedule Blocking Off Time on Your Phone

You can also time block off your calendar on your phone.

There are apps that you can use to time block off your calendar.

For example, you can download Atomic and use that to schedule time off in your calendar.

Block Off Time for Meetings

Once you’ve blocked off time for your email, you can also use this to block off time for meetings.

For example, if you need to get something to your boss, you can block off time in your calendar for the meeting.

You can then block off time for the meeting, set a reminder, and get started.

Block Off Time for Your Family

You want to be able to spend some time with your family too.

That’s why it’s important to also time block off time for your family.

If that means you’ll have to cut back on your time with your friends, that’s what you need to do.

You need to work on your family time, so that you can get the most out of the time you’re able to spend with your loved ones.

Block Off Time for Yourself

If you want to be able to do your time blocking in a quiet space, you’ll need to block off time for yourself.

You don’t want to be interrupted by your kids or the people you live with. You want to be able to block off time to do your time blocking.

Create an Event in Your Calendar

If you want to block off time for a specific activity, you can create an event that you can schedule into your calendar.

For example, you can create an event in your calendar that says, “I’ll be working out.” You can then schedule this in your calendar.

Start Time Blocking Today

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article about how to time block your calendar.

The point is to start time blocking today so that you can start getting a lot more done.

The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see positive results.

It’s about making sure that you prioritize your time and that you’re able to get more done.

Again, if you're looking for a time blocking app check out Atomic that will help you organize your day using AI.