Tipmas - 1 day challenge - scrap multi-tasking!

Day 4 of Tipmas

Today is a 1 day challenge for you. A lot of people say about how multi-tasking is a great skill. Others will say it’s something that they just don’t possess but wish that they did. Well today’s challenge… give it up and time block instead!

Today’s challenge is to drop the multi-tasking and to instead block out time for tasks. What do I mean, well let’s say you know you need to reply to several emails, they have been sat in your inbox (for longer than you care to admit) but you just haven’t gotten around to it. Or you have a busy inbox and you find that you just spend your day replying to emails and rarely get to the projects or other tasks you have. Block out however long you think you’ll need (if its a couple of biggies) or if it’s a busy inbox that never stops, block out 2 hours in the morning, 2 in the afternoon. Outside of that you don’t have your email app open, or if you need it for reference turn yourself on to do not disturb, you now spend the rest of your day focused on your other tasks and projects instead.

Or if you want to really go for it (and I suggest as an experiment… why not!), block out your time for emails as above, block out half an hour post any meetings to action all your follow up tasks (because who really likes those hanging around anyway!). Create a block of time in your calendar for each item you need to get done for the day and when it’s that tasks time you focus on that and nothing else.

An example time blocked day:

9am-11am Respond to emails, send emails for things you needed from other people by close of the day
11am-11:15am Break from your screen
11:15am-1pm Project work
1pm-2pm Lunch
2pm-3pm Prep anything you need to send to others, action any tasks that are needed outside emails
3pm-3:15pm Break from your screen
3:15pm-5pm Meetings and follow up actions

The key to time blocking is focusing yourself on the task at hand. Stop juggling your phone in one hand with your coffee in the other hand. Emails alongside your spreadsheet, or your online meeting alongside doing some internet research sneakily on the side.

Remember to schedule in your breaks they are important for your wellbeing.

If you would like to read more on the in’s and out’s of time blocking there’s a great article you can read here

Remember to always do what works for you - that’s important. But you never know if there is a better way if you don’t try things every now and then!

Happy time blocking and productivity!