How to Time Block Your Schedule, Stop Multitasking, and Be More Productive in Your Bookkeeping Firm
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If you’re not already time blocking your schedule, AND you constantly feel like you never get anything done — you’re not alone!
We’ve found that time blocking is the KEY to achieving goals like:
More productive work days
Less burnout during busy times
Staying on track with due dates
Completing tasks with more accuracy and speed
This technique’s brilliant because you’re not wasting your energy wondering what to work on next! Every task you do in a day falls under a certain category, so all you have to do is refer to the time block category on your calendar and choose a task to complete!
Okay so there’s a little more that goes into it, but if you’re interested in how to set up your Google calendar (or paper planner, iPhone app, etc.), this blog’s definitely for you!
What Is Time Blocking?
The best way to describe time blocking is just breaking your day into chunks that give you a structure to follow throughout the day.
The best part about time blocking is the fact that it saves your brain so much energy because you’re not switching from email to Instagram, to coding transactions, back to another email. It’s so much easier to focus when you group like tasks together, and saves you from going back and forth.
So time blocking could look like:
[EMAILS] 9AM-10AM
[CLIENT WORK] 10AM - 11:30AM
[LUNCH] 11:30AM - 12PM
[INTERNAL PROJECTS] 12PM - 1PM
[CLIENT CALLS] 1PM - 2PM
[SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT] 2PM - 2:30PM
Of course, this is just an example! But notice how the time blocks are used as categories instead of specific tasks. This way, you can easily repeat the same structure every week.
I find that it helps to have a list of tasks for each category (or maybe tag them in Asana) so that when I’m planning what to work on during that time block I can easily choose.
The Basics Of Time Blocking Your Schedule
When you start creating your time blocking schedule, you’ll go through three steps to create the perfect setup for your specific needs.
Divide
Depending on how many hours per day you want to work, take that amount of time and divide it up into categories like the ones I outlined above. There’s no special list of magical time blocking categories you have to stick to, so just start by listing out all the tasks you do in a day and look for similarities.
When you’re creating each block, try to keep them between 30 minutes and 3 hours. Too little or too much time won’t work to your advantage, so we like to follow this guideline and adjust as needed!
Decide
Once you have your time blocking categories set, decide on when you’d like to work on each one. Add them into your calendar and figure out which tasks you’ll work on during each chunk of time.
We LOVE Google calendar for time blocking because it also allows us to adjust our availability for booking calls and create a color-coded visual so we know what to work on at a glance. And to add even more amazingness, we make sure to coordinate the colors in our calendar to our color-coding system in Asana.
Keep in mind that each day of your week might be blocked differently — and that’s okay! Just figure out a schedule that works for you and stick with it.
Repeat
Yay! You’ve set up your shiny new time blocked calendar and you’re ready to take on the world! But you’re not just going to do this for one day or one week, my friend.
This is a repeatable system that can, and should, be used as a default for all your work weeks. We know that life happens and sometimes things need to shift around. That’s the beauty of using a digital calendar!
You can easily make changes one week without needing to remember to go back to your original plan next time because it’s already in there for you. One more task off your plate is always a WIN in our world!
Take Time Blocking To The Next Level With Deep Work
Deep work is a concept created by Cal Newport and is regularly practiced by us here at Workflow Queen.
Basically, deep work is just using one of your time blocks to zone in on some really focused tasks. That means zero looking at your phone, email, socials, etc. You might even want to lock yourself in a room and get noise-canceling headphones!
Find what works best for you, but I’ve found that there’s really 4 things to consider when you decide to incorporate deep work into your week.
Location — Choose to do deep work in a place that feels comfortable and inspiring, but of course not distracting.
Duration — How long will you stay in deep work? Choose a realistic amount of time that feels right for you, or start small and increase the time later. Also decide how often you want to schedule in deep work. We recommend it at least once per week!
Structure — Before you get started, decide which tasks you’ll tackle during your deep work session. It’s important to decide ahead of time so you don’t risk task-switching or fall into analysis paralysis!
Requirements — What do you need to execute this deep work? Think of the apps, snacks, music, and resources you’ll need to get together before you dive in.
You Don’t Have To Journey Into Time Blocking Alone
We’ve been doing this for a while now, and we’ve seen real benefits from creating a schedule with time blocks that make sense for us.
Our signature program, Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants, is the perfect next step for firm owners at any level to finally take control of their time and use it more efficiently.
So we OBVIOUSLY have to share our love of time blocking with you and the rest of the world by including a lesson on exactly how to create a time-blocked schedule for yourself! And like we mentioned above, you’ll also learn how to coordinate the colors of your calendar with the color code we recommend in Asana to really enhance the experience.
When you learn how to manage your time, you end up with MORE of it! Then, you can use our proven processes (or create your own) to easily delegate to team members and spend more energy working ON your firm instead of IN it.
Beyond that, we’re also super proud of the support and the community our students get to enjoy as part of the program. You’ll have a dedicated student community to come to with questions and WINS as you move through the modules.
Say goodbye to stressing about #allthethings and establish repeatable processes for your firm!
