How to Realistically Time Block Like Elon Musk and Bill Gates

Who time blocks and why do they do it? 

Well first of all, Elon Musk and Bill Gates do it. 

It’s simple. If you don’t control your schedule, it will control you. 

That’s why time blocking has been practiced by well-renown leaders who continue to create waves of productive channels each working day. 

In a world constantly trying to distract us, it’s near impossible not to get caught up in an influx of tasks which will deter you from what you actually planned to achieve. When this continues to happen, the result is low productivity – impacting performance, job satisfaction and mental health.  

When applied correctly and followed correctly, time blocking can be a real game changer for those who need it. 

“A 40 hour time-blocked work week, I estimate, produces the same amount of output as a 60+ hour work week pursued without structure.” 

Cal Newport, Author of Deep Work

What Is Time Blocking?

Time blocking is a simple way to take back control of your workday and in some cases, your life. It’s a growing concept as there are now many roles which demand attention towards meetings, emails, team catch-ups, clients and on top of everything, the actual work. 

It commences by dividing your day into blocks of time, inclusive of work tasks, family responsibilities and other commitments. Each block becomes dedicated to one specific task. That way, you are able to complete it and focus only on this at the given time. When your time is up, you continue to the next block and commence the allocated task. 

Rather than start your day with a long to-do list you’ll keep adding to and with no set times, time-blocking secures a concrete schedule, so you know everything you need to achieve will get done at some point in the day. 

When allocating your times, you can prioritise your tasks simultaneously while thinking about the week ahead. This allows you to plan a rough schedule for the remaining days. If there are any unfinished tasks on a particular day, you can place them into a block for the following day and continue to adjust your week like this. 

How Is It Effective?

S*t gets done.

Every day your time is blocked out in advance. You won’t have to constantly make choices about what to focus on or panic about what is yet to be done. All you need to do is follow your time blocking schedule. If you get off-task or distracted, simply look at your schedule and get back to whichever task you blocked off time for. 

While your to-do list will always be the same, you’ve allocated a time for each item. To-do-lists don’t account for time or priority. When these lists are long, we tend to complete the smaller tasks first and leave the more complex work undone. Knowing there is unfinished business will make you feel stressed, overwhelmed and potentially cause insomnia. When you time block, you work on one thing. All other to-do items have been allocated in other slots, so they are not floating around in your head insinuating fear if undone or forgotten. All you have to do is stick to the schedule. 

Single tasking can also become a game changer making you up to 80 per cent more productive. When your attention is divided attention across several things at once, your brain frantically switches back and forth. Each one of those switches becomes a setback, taking a toll on overall productivity. And stress!

How Do I Know If It Will Work For Me?

If you’re on the fence about this concept, consider the challenges you currently experience. These may see immediate relief when you start time blocking. 

Juggling too many responsibilities? This can cause you to lose track of how much time you’ve spent on which tasks. Things are easily forgotten, unfinished or damaged when they’re neglected which could have a powerful impact on your performance and your business as a whole. When you time block, you can physically see how much time is being spent on each specific task so you’re guaranteed to have as little or as much input as is required at the most crucial times. 

Another issue you may be facing now is constantly reacting to items which rise throughout the day, which could take hours of your time. This includes emails, phone calls, messages and other interruptions from staff. Not only do you have to do another task, your current task is paused making it much harder to resume. When you do get back to it, you’ll have to go over what you already commenced, in order to complete the work to the best of your ability. 

If you’re in meetings all day, this could pose a challenge too. Going in and out of various sessions will leave little room to have solid blocks of time for working. Your head is filled with information from one meeting to the next and you may need time to absorb it all right after, as well as time to prepare before it begins. Time blocking gives you the power to see where the meetings occur and plan ahead of time where you will work in between. This is especially effective if you have control over meeting times and are able to schedule them all in the morning or afternoon, leaving solid blocks of the day uninterrupted. 

Time blocking is also good practice for procrastinators. Try sitting yourself at your desk knowing you have something to do, and all day to do it. You may not commence it for hours yet. If you set aside two hours, say between 11am and 1pm, you have time free before it, and can get another project underway. When it gets to 11am, you know you’ve only got two hours for the task so will get it done with no interruptions or time to procrastinate. And then after 1pm, you are free to go to lunch and continue your afternoon with other tasks you’ve allocated. 

Setbacks of Time Blocking

Let us guess what you’re thinking right now – “I don’t have time to allocate my time.”

If you time block, you will. Eventually. However, yes. Starting any new process requires practice and patience. Initially you will face challenges with estimated timings, including every task, and just remembering to do your schedule and stick to it. One thing to note, is that you will become more fluent and competent with the process, managing set times to do your time-blocking. 

Despite your time blocked schedule, there will always be emergencies which will interrupt your day. As well as the stress caused by the event, you’ll feel more overwhelmed when you’re not able to stick to your schedule. This may make you less responsive and committed to resolving the emergency. 

When you time block, you also limit any possibilities for spontaneity in the office, and socialising with peers. While you were hired to do a job, when your schedule is so precise it can be difficult to speak with and assist other employees or become involved in any unplanned events. 

Another initial set back is that time blocking requires set times for each task, meaning you have to estimate how long they will take. This can be complicated especially initially when you are new to the process. 

Tips To Get You Started

Your role and tasks may make it seem impossible to implement time blocking. Don’t forget, any new process requires practice, patience and communication. Once you’ve told your peers about the schedule, make sure they realise the benefits for them too. They will have a clear window for reaching out to you, as well as know when you are most responsive. Your team will even save time themselves knowing they won’t have your attention until the afternoon and taking initiative to complete other tasks in the interim. 

Don’t allow distractions! Do you know what distracts you the most? Telling your team helps with this one, so they are less likely to approach you. Other common distractions such as phones and emails can be placed on silent with hidden notifications. It’s your responsibility to ensure you are eliminating any opportunity for interruptions. 

When are you most productive? If you’ve got flexibility with your schedule, you can allocate your most productive times for important and challenging tasks with more confidence they will get done. Think about what you would schedule on a Monday morning versus what you will schedule on a Friday afternoon. Make it realistic. 

Don’t forget to schedule breaks and time off. It may look more productive on the page to work straight through lunch, but your mind and energy will hit a wall at some point. Taking a solid break, especially after complex tasks, will set you up for the remainder of the day so you are able to perform at 100 per cent of your capacity. As well as breaks, be open to some flexible slots where you’re able to check in on peers. These may come in opportunities where you overestimate the timing of a task. You may want to consider adding buffers in, so you are prepared for running overtime too, especially for new tasks or if you are new to time-blocking. 

Review your progress each week. This allows you to pick up on areas of improvement and address them all for next week’s schedule. Perhaps you didn’t eliminate a certain distraction or overestimated the timing of a specific task. This will make your life easier in the long run. It’s important to tackle time blocking as best as you can. 

Time Blocking Variations 

If you’re not ready to go all in, there are other variations which may suit your situation better initially. These can lead to time blocking, or may be all you need to save time and increase productivity.

Task Batching

Task batching is grouping similar tasks together into one time block. Tasks are completed in one hit limiting any context switching you would otherwise do. You’ll still end up saving time and energy, including the time you may have spent scheduling each specific item for time blocking. There’s less planning involved as you can just block out chunks of your day when your flow builds up within one area such as emails or editing, etc.  

Day Theming

As the name suggests, day theming is a variation where similar tasks are scheduled for an entire day. This may work for high-end leaders who have several areas of focus such as marketing, sales, HR etc. Rather than have daily allocations, you’ll focus on one department per day – maintaining a reliable pattern of work. While this can be productive, it poses a challenge for other areas to be completely dismissed for an entire day and may not be practical for everyone. 

Time Boxing

Timeboxing requires you to set a specific limit on the amount of time you take for a certain task. The goal is to increase efficiency when you know you have to complete it within a set timeframe. Rather than set aside time for the task and accomplish what you are able, you commit to finishing the item in its entirety. This forces you to work efficiently and can be a fun way to challenge yourself and realise your capabilities.  

Time to Time Block 

We’ve been through all the benefits realised with time blocking, as well as any roadblocks you may experience. It’s not for everyone, but if you can make it work, time blocking will change your life, both in the workplace and at home. Mentally, you’ll benefit also as you place less pressure on yourself through the day and work with ease and assurance you are getting s*t done.

Start by time blocking for a week so you aren’t overwhelmed. You’ll see where pockets of time exist, as well as have a clear indication of how much time you are spending at work in relation to your personal time. Once you’ve seen where your energy is going, you can consider making permanent changes with the end goal of maximum performance, reducing stress and achieving work/life balance. And when you’ve hit it, well…block out some time to play air guitar. Because you’ve earnt it.