Time blocking

A to-do list tells you what to do. Time blocking tells you when. You assign every meaningful task a block on the calendar, and the day becomes a budget instead of a wish list. When a block arrives, there is no decision left to make: you already decided this morning.

Block the day in four passes

1. 1List the must-dos

   Three to five outcomes for the day, no more. If everything is a priority, the calendar cannot help you.

2. 2Estimate honestly, then add air

   Take your first guess and add 50 percent. Add two 15-minute buffer blocks: days leak, buffers absorb it.

3. 3Place blocks like meetings

   Deep work in your peak hours, shallow work after lunch. A block with no task assigned will be stolen by email.

4. 4Defend and reschedule, never delete

   Interruptions happen. Move the block to a new slot instead of dropping it: the plan survives contact with reality.

Two upgrades worth stealing

• Task batching: group similar small tasks (email, errands, calls) into one block instead of scattering them.
• Theme days: give whole days one kind of work, like writing Mondays. Context-switching is the tax this method removes.