We know people want to be productive and will try several productivity ideas over time.
The biggest question is, why do people give up so easily? In many cases, they start doing things right and then fail to alter when things do become difficult.
With time blocking, they can avoid this by avoiding mistakes that frustrate them and moving on to try something else. Here are 7 huge mistakes to avoid.
- Like most things in life, time blocking requires a step back and revising when things are not going according to plan. People tend to get annoyed when the going gets tough, and then they pick up and walk away from time blocking. When time blocking is acknowledged as a guide, instead of a hard and fast rule, it removes frustration. Analyzing and revising are critical to time-blocking success.
- We are not superhuman. This means that although we plan out our time blocks for the week, it will be rare for us to complete everything. The frustration level will rise again unless we pre-plan a “catch up” day. By doing this, we have a good chunk of time on one of our least busy days to go back and finish items that need some tidying up. It doesn't have to be a full day. Instead, we may designate four to five hours daily to catch up and feel the excitement of getting it done.
- In time blocking, we always need to schedule breaks and lunches. Yet many people fail to do this and burn out because they have the gas pedal to the floor all day long. Car engines are not designed to run full out all day, nor are we. Break time must be scheduled, and when starting with time blocking, it may be necessary to review and lengthen the break times the following week. Tweaking time blocking to get the kinks out will stop that frustration level from skyrocketing.
- Many people find time blocking works better for them if they leave a space or two throughout their daily time blocking. This is especially true for people with hectic schedules or outside demands that cannot be ignored. Instead of filling their time blocking schedule and then trying to jam more, they create a blank space or two to keep themselves sane.
- The next mistake is one of the biggest. Very few people can estimate with any amount of accuracy how long a project will take. The ability to estimate how long it will take to do a task is something you learn along the way. As time blocking starts to become second nature, this will change and be a new and profound ability.
- Along with estimating time for tasks, it will be essential to understand how much time a person can give to life tasks. When people start time blocking, they list things to do and then drop it all into a calendar. When the first week produces dismal results, they get frustrated and want to give up. They failed to consider what their personal life consists of and how it will alter their time blocking.
To avoid having issues, it is best to look at all the things that have to be done in a day and think about how much time will be required. For example, when a person commutes to work, they need to look at how their commute has gone over a month or two. Did the commute go smoothly every day, and they can set their watch by the daily commute? It is rare for a commute go smoothly each and every day, so this has to be taken into account.
The train might have been late, unannounced road construction might have popped up, or their ride partner is frequently late. Looking at all those personal tasks before attempting to time block and using a calendar is important.
We left one of the biggest mistakes to the very end and it is very important. What is the priority? Failure to understand what takes the most priority in a day means that essential work will not get done. This will destroy any attempts to time block. For example, if a person's priority is sales, but they put accounting as having more importance, they may endanger their position in a company. It is essential to understand and schedule priority tasks correctly.
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