What It Is
Time Blocking is a productivity technique where you divide your day into blocks of time, each dedicated to accomplishing a specific task or group of tasks. Instead of keeping an open-ended to-do list, you schedule everything on your calendar, treating tasks like appointments.
How It Works
The process:
- Identify your priorities – Know what needs to get done
- Estimate time needed – Be realistic about how long tasks take
- Block your calendar – Schedule specific time slots for each task
- Protect your blocks – Treat them like meetings you can’t cancel
- Include buffer time – Account for interruptions and overflow
Popularization
Time blocking surged in popularity around 2012-2016 thanks to:
- Cal Newport – Author of “Deep Work” (2016) who advocated for time blocking as essential for knowledge work
- Elon Musk – Famous for using 5-minute time blocks to manage Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures
- Bill Gates – Known for “Think Weeks” where he blocks entire weeks for deep reading and thinking
The #TimeBlocking hashtag exploded on productivity Twitter and YouTube (2015-2020) as remote work increased and people struggled with work-from-home boundaries.
Variants
- Day theming – Assign different themes to different days (Marketing Monday, Finance Friday)
- Task batching – Group similar tasks into one block (batch email responses, batch content creation)
- Time boxing – Strict time limits to force focus and prevent perfectionism
- Ideal week template – Create a recurring schedule you try to match each week
Tools
Popular time blocking tools:
- Google Calendar with color-coded blocks
- Fantastical (2011+)
- Sunsama (2018+)
- Motion (2019+)
- TimeBlock apps (various, 2014+)
Criticism
Critics argue time blocking can feel rigid, doesn’t account for creativity’s nonlinear nature, and creates stress when you inevitably fall behind schedule. Some find it works better for “manager mode” than “maker mode” (Paul Graham’s distinction, 2009).
Sources
- Cal Newport’s blog: https://www.calnewport.com/blog/
- “Deep Work” by Cal Newport (2016)
- Paul Graham’s “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule”: http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html