If you go to work and feel like you’re constantly chipping away at a never-ending list of tasks, this hack is for you.
You might think that multitasking is necessary to get everything done, but research continuously shows that juggling multiple to-dos at once is a fool’s errand. It stresses us out, causes our heart rate to spike and increases our blood pressure. Even worse: When we multitask, it takes us longer to finish our work and we make more errors.
Bottom line: When we try to do too many things at once, a concept also called task switching, our brains and bodies burn through a ton of energy.
Say you stop working on a report to answer an email. When you open the report back up, you waste energy remembering where you left off and getting back into a groove, Anne Welsh, a clinical psychologist and executive coach based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Task switching depletes your executive functioning, which is necessary for making decisions, planning and focusing, Welsh said.
“If you start your work day with a ‘we’ll see what happens’ attitude, you’ll likely get pulled in too many directions, feel overwhelmed, and be disappointed with your productivity come five o’clock,” noted Billy Roberts, the founder and clinical director of Focused Mind ADHD Counselling in Columbus, Ohio.
One solution to this problem regularly recommended by therapists who specialise in ADHD and productivity is time blocking — a time management tool that involves tackling specific tasks during scheduled chunks of time. For example, you may schedule 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for checking your inbox and responding to emails. Then block 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for working on client proposals. After that, you may schedule lunch until 1 p.m. Then from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., you may carve out space for 1:1s with your direct reports.
Of course, how you program your chunks of time is dependent on your own personal needs. But the gist is that you allocate dedicated periods of time to specific categories or tasks.
The Benefits Of Time Blocking
Welsh said time blocking is essentially about purposefully structuring your day. “It allows you to focus on one thing at a time, and prevents you from wasting cognitive energy moving back and forth between tasks.”
When you time block, you become more aware of how much time you need to allocate to various tasks, which, over time, gives you a better idea of what you can realistically accomplish each day.
Because time blocking lets your brain deeply focus on one thing at a time, it fosters creative thinking and problem-solving, said Dr. Zishan Khan, a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist with Mindpath Health in Frisco, Texas.
It also minimizes distractions, research shows, and helps you waste less time moving back and forth between tasks. “Time blocking minimises these switches, helping maintain cognitive efficiency and reducing mental fatigue,” Khan said.
Furthermore, time blocking eliminates “decision fatigue” around what you should be doing and when. “By keep[ing] our attention to one task, we can increase our productivity and focus on that cognitive challenge,” Welsh said.
Many people who time block often feel more accomplished, too. The reason? They build momentum toward their goals by checking off tasks in shorter bursts of deep productivity. “Making tangible progress toward a goal leads to an increase of satisfaction and subsequent motivation,” Roberts said.
How To Start Time Blocking
First, make a list of the tasks you want to accomplish during the day. Roberts said it can help to get specific. Rather than write “complete reports,” jot down “do background research for reports” or “write introduction for report.”
Then, estimate the amount of time it will take to complete each task, according to the University of Pennsylvania. Assign each task a chunk of time in your calendar — say, 30 minutes or 1 hour — and schedule tiny breaks in between tasks. Feel free to make some time blocks longer than others.
For example, you can work on your manuscript for one hour, between 9 to 10 a.m., take a 15-minute break, and tackle administrative tasks from 10:15 to 10:30 a.m. (Here’s an example of a time-blocked calendar from Asana.)
There are multiple ways to go about time blocking. Some experts recommend a 3:1 ratio: For example, work for 90 minutes then take a 30-minute break. Experiment with different routines until you find one that works well for you.
The most important thing is to remain flexible. Time blocking isn’t supposed to be super rigid, Khan said, and you should adjust your schedule based on your priorities or energy levels.
Ultimately, the goal is to feel like you’re in charge of your schedule — and not the other way around, Roberts said.