Time Blocking

Time management is so important in our lives. We don’t understand how important it is. We all have 24 hours in a day. We can choose to be productive with it or waste it. It is totally up to each one of us. Whether we are self-employed and work from home or have a job, we can all use more structure in our lives. Us Americans have a tendency to try to multi-task all the time. This is very inefficient. We need to have complete focus to get things accomplished. We can have multiple tasks and still be efficient and get them done quickly. If we try and do too many things at one time we end up usually not accomplishing much. By the end of the week we look back and see that we have not accomplished anything and overwhelm sets in. When overwhelm sets in the stress sets in. When we become stressed then we cannot focus. When we cannot focus then we don’t get things done or if they get done they are not done well and we usually have to go back and redo things.

Below are some tips to help you get started to become more organized and more efficient. It is ultimately up to you to use and implement anything new. How bad do you want to change your life? Only you can answer that. I hope this free report helps you on your way to becoming more of what you want to be.

Time blocking is a natural thing to do. We all do it without even trying. We sleep, go to work, eat, watch t.v., shower, etc. Time blocking is a success tool that will help us achieve the goals that we want to achieve. Time blocking helps us keep on track of what we need to do each week in order to bring cash into our business and keep our business moving forward. Without time blocking we will feel like we are flying by the seat of our pants and nothing seems to get done. Without time blocking we will start a task then get interrupted by a phone call or email and then start on that task and maybe come back to the task we are doing later. The end of the week gets here and it seems like nothing is done. We feel frustrated and overwhelmed and stress sets in. Time blocking helps eliminate stress and things seem to get done more efficiently and on time.

1) Always start with a plan for the week
Take some time on Sat or Sun and plan your week out as to what needs to be done that week on your business. Then prioritize them in the order of importance. Then time block in a time each day to get something done with each one of those tasks. You don’t have to complete a task in one day unless it is something that needs to be done immediately. It could be something off a cap that you are working on like marketing or sales or private money. If you take the time to plan each week then you will not get that feeling of overwhelm and you will give yourself a clear direction on what needs to be done and move your business forward.

2) Master the 15-30 minute time block
Do not try and time block every minute of the day. If you do you are setting yourself up to fail. Set up time blocks in 15-30 minutes each. I suggest mastering the 15 minute time block first then extend it after you feel like you consistently have that down.

3) Be Specific with what you are time blocking
When you set up your time blocks each week, make sure you are specific with what you are going to do for each time block. For example, just don’t write in 9am-9:30am marketing. Write down what you are going to do in with marketing. Are you going to research new lists or farm areas? Are you going to call STL to switch campaigns? Be specific with what you are going to do in your 15-30 minutes. You don’t want to have to think about what you are going to do when you start you time block. You want to get right into. So be specific with each time block

4) Be focused but also flexible
When you do your time block you want to have 15-30 minutes of totally focused and uninterrupted time. You don’t answer the phone. You don’t answer email. You don’t go to the bathroom(do that before you start). You let everyone around you know that unless it is an absolute emergency you are not to be interrupted. Stay totally focused as this will help you become more efficient with your work and it will get done a lot quicker. You must be flexible also. Let me explain what I mean by being flexible. I like to leave chunks of time during each day that I can plug in other tasks that come up during the week or time blocks that I have to reschedule. Let’s say that you have time blocked out on Tues from 10-10:30am for putting together your new statistics for your sales mastery presentation. You had planned on looking up the new sales data and foreclosure statistics. On Monday you get a call from a seller that has a free and clear house but the only day they can meet is Tuesday at 10:30am. Instead of saying sorry I have a time block at that time and can’t meet you until later that day you reschedule your time block for later that day or sometime that week. Going on a free and clear seller appt. takes priority over looking up statistics. That is why you leave times open during the day for these types of things that come up. So stay flexible.

5) Use a time board and timer
I have a 23” x 17” dry erase board in my office. I got 1/8” wide artist tape that you can buy at a place like Michaels and I made 5 columns for M-F. I have 3 large rows going across and 1 smaller row at the bottom. The bottom row I write in my monthly goals and 90 day goals for cash. The larger rows is where I write in my time blocks for the week. This way it is always there for me to look at and see what I am supposed to be doing. I also user a digital timer that you can find in most hardware or kitchen stores. This is a timer like you would use for eggs or in the kitchen. When you start a time block set it for 15-130 minutes. When it goes off you then can decide if you want to continue or go on to something else. I like to leave at least a ½ hr between time blocks just to stretch or make a phone call, use the bathroom or get things ready for the next time block.

Time blocking is a success habit. We all do time blocking unintentionally. When we intentionally time block we become more efficient and get things done quickly. Stay disciplined with this and it will help move you and your business to the next level.

Keith Young
Your Inner Game Coachn