I used to think I was bad with time.
Hours would just disappear… not even sure where they went. I’d sit down to work, blink, and it’d be 5 PM. Nothing big got done, but I felt drained anyway.
Then one week, I tried something called time blocking. Didn’t do it perfectly. Still don’t. But I’ve been doing it enough to say — it works. It actually works.
What is time blocking?
It’s simple, really. You don’t just write a to-do list. You give each task a home on your calendar.
Instead of saying “I’ll write the blog post today,” I block 3 PM to 4 PM and that’s blog time. Nothing else touches that block.
It’s like giving your tasks a seat at the table. No more vague “I’ll get to it later.”
How I started (and messed up)
The first time I tried it, I overdid it.
I blocked every minute of my day. 8:00-8:30: breakfast. 8:30-9:00: email. 9:00-9:45: workout… By noon I was behind and frustrated.
So I learned: don’t block like a robot.
Now I just block the big things — 2 or 3 anchors in my day. Stuff that actually needs focused time. The rest flows around it.
And I always leave buffer time. Life happens. We can’t live on a spreadsheet.
My current time blocks (roughly)
- 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Deep work block (writing, strategy, etc.)
- 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Admin / emails / small tasks
- 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Creative time or reading
Sometimes it shifts. But those are my three.
Even on messy days, I try to protect at least one of them. Just one solid block where I show up and give it my full attention.
Time blocking helps my brain breathe
I don’t wake up wondering what to do first. The block tells me. And when the block ends, I move on.
No more spending the whole day on one thing just because I didn’t know where to stop.
It’s not about perfection — it’s about presence. Time blocking helps me be where I am, not juggle everything all the time.
If you want to try it...
- Start with just one block per day. One hour for something important.
- Put it on your calendar. Treat it like an appointment.
- Don’t cram your whole day. Leave space.
Try it for three days. You might be surprised how calm your day feels — even if the to-do list doesn’t shrink overnight.
I’m not always consistent. But on the days I time block, I end with a little more peace… and a little less guilt.
