Implementing Time Blocking: How to Silence the Sceptic

Do you often feel like you’re constantly reacting to your day rather than controlling it? If you have tried time blocking and given up, or if you feel overwhelmed by the thought of being chained to a calendar, this post is for you.

What is Time Blocking?

Time blocking transforms random to-do lists into concrete appointments. It involves dividing the day into specific blocks of time, with each block dedicated to a defined task or group of tasks. You plan in advance the tasks that you are going to tackle throughout the day, ensuring you know exactly what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it.

The main benefit of time blocking, in my opinion, is that it makes life feel doable. You’re not faced with a seemingly endless list of tasks, unsure how you’re going to get them all done. With time blocking, you can see exactly when you’re going to do them all. Or, at the very least, you gain a more realistic idea of whether your expectations for the day are achievable. If they aren’t, you can quickly prioritise or delegate.

I know, however, that not everyone agrees with me, and many people find this way of planning and managing their time overly complicated, time-consuming, and rigid. In this post, I want to look at the common objections I hear from people about why time blocking doesn't work for them and suggest ways that these challenges can be addressed. In my opinion, if you want to have control of your schedule, the only way to do it is to time block. So, if you're one of those sceptics, then read on…

The Common Objections (And How to Fix Them)

"It’s Too Rigid – Life Is Unpredictable and My Schedule Needs to Be Flexible"

When it comes to flexibility, what I would say is that this is okay to a certain degree, but if you're doing a difficult task, you may welcome someone distracting you because what they’re asking you to do is probably easier than the task you’ve set yourself. Unfortunately, it all comes down to being more disciplined and having boundaries. Whilst the task they’re asking you to do may be more attractive now, come 5 pm, are you going to be happy that you chose to do that instead of the boring but important task you set yourself?

I suggest that you look at whether this really is something that needs your urgent attention or whether it's a task that could be scheduled for tomorrow or even next week. I think that there is a risk of being too flexible, and that urgent requests by other people are often a symptom of the fact that those people don’t plan enough and ignore what they know is coming until they have to tackle it and then they do so in a mad panic.

It's also about accepting that changes will happen. Just because a change occurs or something truly urgent crops up, it doesn't mean that time blocking isn't worth doing. I think this is where people almost give up, concluding, 'It's not worth planning because I can never stick to my plan.' However, the truth is, you could and should be sticking to your plan the majority of the time. It's similar to building a new habit: if you miss a day, you wouldn't or shouldn't give up altogether; you simply get back to it the next day. Think of trying to quit smoking: if you have one cigarette, you don't just restart smoking. Instead, you continue trying to stop after that single lapse. The key is simple: don't let one problem derail your whole plan.

It's about seeing the plan of your day as a guide rather than a straitjacket. But if you decide to stray from your plan for the day to do something else different from what's on your calendar, what I would say is that you need to be happy with the reason that you are doing this. So, it isn't just that you don’t want to do it, or somebody asks you to do something which sounded more interesting, even though the task you had planned was more important than the interesting task. Just make decisions or choices that you are happy with and you feel that you can justify, rather than changing your mind and deviating from your calendar on a whim.

"Unforeseen Interruptions"

Let’s start by looking at the first part of this – unforeseen interruptions. How many of these are truly unforeseen, and can they be prevented rather than simply dealt with?

Can you stop people interrupting you? For example, if you're working on something challenging or that requires focus and you're in an open-plan office, maybe you need to go into a quiet room and put a 'do not disturb' sign on the door. You need to have your emails closed and your phone off. We are all easily distracted by our phones and your sister’s Facebook post about her stressful morning always sounds way more interesting than finishing the monthly accounts. If you need help with then head over to this blog post after you’ve finished here. You can also grab some free worksheets to help you tackle this problem here.

Obviously, all of these are going to depend on the type of job you do and whether you have to respond to urgent requests. But most of the time in an office-based environment, anything can wait one to two hours and is not a real emergency. So, I would say it's about preventing those interruptions in the first place.

"Lack of Buffer Time"

There’s only no buffer time if you don’t plan any in. This is something that you can build into your day by creating those gaps where there is nothing particular in your diary. If you do have an emergency or interruptions or unforeseen circumstances, you can use the buffer time to catch up with what you didn't do earlier. But always have something in your calendar that you can be doing if you don’t need to catch up, even if it’s taking a break.

"It’s Difficult to Estimate How Long a Task Will Take"

One of the crucial steps of time blocking when planning your diary is to estimate how long a task is going to take you. Unfortunately, according to the renowned psychologist Daniel Kahneman, we aren’t very good at this. We consistently underestimate the time required to complete future tasks, even when we’ve done them loads of times before.

The way to tackle this is to actually measure how long a task takes you, rather than guess. Obviously, that’s not possible if you’ve never done something before, but if you have, look back and see how much time you spent on it. When doing something for the first time, keep a note of how long it took you.

"It's a Lot of Work Up Front"

This is true, but my advice is to time block one day at a time when you’re starting out rather than doing a whole week. In this way, you don’t feel so overwhelmed, and once you start seeing the benefits of time blocking, you’ll realise that the work up front saves you loads of time throughout the week. It’s just about doing it enough to convince your brain that is the case.

"To Schedule Every Single Task is Overwhelming"

This is true if you schedule every single email you’ve got to write or every ‘life admin’ task or errand you’ve got to do, but the way to address this is to batch. So, I have generic blocks which just say ‘life admin’ and dare I say it, I keep a running list, yes a to-do list, of the life admin tasks e.g. order repeat prescription, book Pilates class. When the life admin block comes around, I just open the list in Google Notes and choose the ones I want to do. In that way, I don’t need to schedule every single task, which would mean spending more time scheduling than actually doing.

"I’m More Likely to Do a Task If I Choose It Rather Than If My Calendar Dictates It"

The truth is that you will feel resistance. Yesterday, you put this uncomfortable task on your calendar for a reason. It’s about understanding your brain. The part of your brain that is able to forward plan makes much better decisions than the part of your brain that makes choices in the moment. You need to trust your ‘yesterday self’ and know that she allocated you this task today for a very good reason. She knows that if you start it today, there won’t be that usually mad rush come the end of the week when you’ve let it slide.

A technique that I recommend is to coach yourself before a challenging task. Examine why you don’t want to do it and brainstorm all of the reasons why it’s a good idea to do it now. Focus on how ‘5 pm you’ will feel once you’ve completed this. It’s just a matter of practice, a ‘muscle’ you need to exercise until it gets stronger, and it will.

Final Thoughts: The Power of Planning in Advance

The core resistance to time blocking often comes from the fear of losing freedom. But the truth is, time blocking is freedom. It’s the ultimate act of pre-decision, similar to the concept of implementing constraints . You are consciously choosing your priorities and protecting your focus, preventing the tyranny of the urgent from dictating your day.

The time you spend upfront planning your day is not wasted; it’s an investment that saves you countless hours of indecision, stress, and catching up later. If you are serious about taking control of your schedule and finally making your big goals feel 'doable,' then it's time to stop letting the sceptic in your head win. Start small, trust your 'yesterday self,' and remember: a lapse is not a failure—it's just a time block you need to get back to tomorrow.