Blocking Out Time for What Really Matters

When this post appears on Aliventures, I’ll be somewhere in Gloucestershire, walking along the river Thames. My boyfriend and I are spending three days walking from the source of the Thames to Oxford, where we plan to collapse at my parents’ home on Saturday evening.

This doesn’t just beg the question of “who in their right mind would want to do that?!” It raises a point that I want to write about today: if you want time for any big project, you need to force that time out of your schedule.

The last couple of weeks have been hectic for me. I knew the run-up to our walking holiday ( “vacation” to US readers) would be busy, but a handful of unexpected events have made it even busier. I’m up-to-date on my paid work and I’ve even managed to complete the first draft of my novel. But some of my other goals have been shoved to the margins – including a number of nagging little things that I want to deal with.

If I’d simply decided at the start of September that I’d take this Thursday through Sunday “off”, I’d have told myself “Nah, not this week. I’m too busy.” As it is, we’d got train tickets and accommodation booked. And I’m glad: after all, the sort of life I want is one which includes plenty of reflective time, exercise, the Great Outdoors, and a deep relationship with my boyfriend.

I knew the holiday would only happen if I made a firm decision to set aside the time for it. Somehow, blocking out a chunk of time like this creates extra time in your schedule. So how does this happen? And how can you use the effect to accomplish your own goals?

Work Fills the Time Available

We’ve all experienced the way that any task can grow to fill up the time available. If you’re a student writing an essay, you can spend days researching unimportant details, organising your files, agonising over the perfect opening sentence…

And, of course, the converse is true. When you’ve got to get something done in two hours, you’ll get it done. That essay materialises out of nowhere, in a fit of frenzied, caffeine-fuelled typing. I ended up with much less time than I expected to write, edit and upload a post here on Aliventures on Monday (due to the aforementioned busyness!) … but marvel of marvels, it still got done.

Since we have 8 hours to fill, we fill 8 hours. If we had 15, we would fill 15. If we have an emergency and need to suddenly leave work in 2 hours but have pending deadlines, we miraculously complete all those assignments in 2 hours.

(Tim Ferriss, The 4 Hour Workweek – reviewed here, p74)

On a day by day basis, you could use this to finish work on time. If you know you’re going to stop at five pm, you’ll find that you’re much more focused on the things that need to be done. On a broader scale, try blocking out a whole day each week for long-term projects that you’ve not made any headway on recently. All the truly “urgent” things will fit into the other four days. (This is how I managed to finish the first draft of my novel a couple of weeks ago.)

Unimportant Tasks Get Sidelined During Crunch Time

You’ve had times when your “to-do” list contained far more items than you could possibly get through in the time available. Perhaps you were heading off on a two week holiday. Maybe a family emergency or some other crisis meant that you suddenly had very little time available. Whatever happened, I’d bet that you did get all the things done which really mattered.

By blocking out a few days in your schedule – even a whole unplugged weekend – you’ll find that you naturally focus on the things that need to be done. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and rushed, take things in order of priority: keep asking the question, “if I could only get one task knocked off my list, which one would it be?”

When you know you’ve only got a limited amount of time, you’ll start focusing on being effective – your efficiency will have a purpose.

You Can Work Harder When You’ve Got a Break Coming Up

Something else I’ve found is that when I know I’ve got a break coming up, I’m willing to work harder! I’m less tempted to procrastinate, I’ll work in the evenings, and I’ll storm through tasks that I’d otherwise dither about … because I’m looking forward to my holiday.

Our most effective work is usually done at the end of a time period, particularly when there is a very definite cut-off point.

(Mark Forster, Get Everything Done And Still Have Time To Play – Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk, p90)

It’s definitely possible to overdo this, and I’m still learning to balance my workload so that I don’t end up in panic-mode prior to going away for a few days. and in frantic catch-up mode when I get home. But simply knowing that there’s a breather coming … even just on the daily level (perhaps your lunch break, or even just a fifteen minute break for a coffee) … can really help with motivation. It’s easier to resist impulses to procrastinate when you’ve got a good reason to stay focused.

Blocking Out Time Means Avoiding Commitments

Finally, one of the biggest reasons that blocking out some time helps you accomplish your goals is because it gives you a cast-iron excuse to avoid extra commitments. This coming weekend is a busy one for our church, and if we weren’t going to be in Oxford, we’d be attending various activities. If we’d simply decided we’d have a weekend of lounging around not doing much, we’d have felt guilty about saying “no” to various requests for help.

This point is especially crucial for freelancers or small business owners. If your time is flexible and you’re not tied to being “in work” during office hours, people assume you’re available all week. It can be tough to say “No, I’m working” – even if that’s what you want to be doing. Blocking out time (such as setting aside a couple of days to work on your book or attend a course) helps you to say “I’m busy” without feeling bad about it.

Creating Your Time Blocks

So how exactly do you go about creating a solid block of time? It’s not always as simple as just taking your calendar and marking a big cross over a few days … you may need to put a framework in place to make sure that you don’t end up cheating yourself out of your time block.

Blocking Out Working Time

By “work”, I don’t just mean whatever you currently do to make money: I’m including all those ventures that you’d really like to pour your heart into.

You’ve got several projects that you’d love to make progress on … but you never quite find the time. Perhaps you want to launch your side business, set up a website for your small company, write an ebook, or take a particular qualification.

If your working time gets taken up with trivia – or interruptions – try some of these:

• Attend a course. If you’re away for the weekend at a seminar, or if you have Tuesdays blocked out for classes, then you’ll have the time for learning.
• Set aside certain days for your projects. This could mean blocking out a day or two each week to write your book or your dissertation. Set up an autoresponder on your email, if necessary, and a message on your answerphone, to let people know you’re not available.
• Spend a whole morning or afternoon working in a library. I’ve been a student for most of my life, and libraries instantly get me into a focused mindset! Plus, anywhere that bans mobile phones has to be good for productivity…
• If you work from home and have kids, consider hiring a childminder for a few hours a week. You’ll be able to work without interruptions – and you’ll be more focused when you know you’re paying someone for that time! (I don’t have kids, so I’ve never tried this one myself, but I used to childmind for a woman for exactly this reason…)

Blocking Out Leisure Time

When you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, or when you have numerous work-y ventures taking up time, it can be tough to make the space for things you really want to do.

But we all need some play time. Even if your work is what you love (I really enjoy writing, for instance), you’ll burn out if you don’t get the chance to refresh and unwind.

If your leisure time keeps vanishing in the face of “just one more email”, try these:

• Book a holiday (vacation). Pay for tickets and accommodation. Once you’re committed to going, you’ll go!
• Book tickets for the theatre, a musical, a gig or some other event
• Make a promise – to a friend, or to your partner – to spend some time with them, and plan something specific (dinner? drinks? a movie?)
• Mark a day in your diary or on your calendar as “free time”. If anyone asks you to do something on that day, tell them, “Sorry, I already have plans.

It takes self-discipline to make space for the things you want to do: it’s so easy to get stuck on the productivity treadmill. You won’t miraculously stumble across an entire free day to make meaningful progress on your work (or to have real fun!) … you need to be proactive in blocking out that time, and honouring that promise to yourself.

Can you find an hour this week to simply enjoy being yourself – without running around doing things? How about blocking out a whole morning or afternoon to get on with that project you’d love to start … or finish?