{"id":160888,"date":"2018-02-23T15:08:57","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T14:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/blog\/why-you-should-be-time-blocking-and-not-just-writing-to-do-lists\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T04:22:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T02:22:29","slug":"why-you-should-be-time-blocking-and-not-just-writing-to-do-lists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/pt-br\/blog\/why-you-should-be-time-blocking-and-not-just-writing-to-do-lists\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Be Time Blocking and Not Just Writing To-Do Lists"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

Much has been written on this blog about how to be productive<\/a>, how to manage your tasks<\/a>, and techniques for clarifying what your tasks actually are<\/a>\u2026 But we haven\u2019t spent much time on the best way to actually tackle those tasks! Today is that day.<\/p>\n

\"time<\/figure>\n
\n

What\u2019s Time Blocking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Time blocking is the practice of scheduling certain periods of time in which to tackle specific tasks. Essentially, you schedule your tasks and to-dos for the day (or week), and stick to that schedule. During these time blocks, you focus on only one project or task at a time.<\/p>\n

The key word here is focus.<\/em> This doesn\u2019t work if you allow any interruptions or distractions. And this is something anyone can do\u200a\u2014\u200ayes, even if you work in a super busy open office, or you\u2019re expected to answer whenever anyone messages you.<\/p>\n

\n

Why We Should Time-Block<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cal Newport<\/a>, an Associate Professor of computer science at Georgetown University and author of the wildly popular \u201cDeep Work\u201d, argues that time away from distraction is necessary to enter a state of deep work. A state in which you can really focus on a cognitively demanding task (like writing, coding, problem-solving..).<\/p>\n

Many great thinkers shut themselves off from society when they needed to focus or meet a tough deadline. J.K. Rowling would rent a hotel room, Carl Jung built a tower in the woods<\/a> to get away. Cutting out worldly distractions is nothing new. The main issue is that many of us seem to have lost the ability to cut out distractions and simply focus.<\/p>\n

If you, like many of us, do creative or knowledge work that requires you to produce high-value work regularly, then you likely already know how precious a few interruption-free hours can be. But humans are social creatures. We like to respond to messages and participate in the conversations around us. Time-blocking gives you \u201cpermission\u201d to ignore those conversations and messages for a period of time in order to get down to work.<\/p>\n

\n

Quality = Time x\u00a0Focus<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As Cal stated in an interview with FastCompany<\/a>, \u201chigh-quality work produced is a function of two things\u200a\u2014\u200athe amount of time you spend on the work and the intensity of your focus during this time. If you can increase your focus, you\u2019ll get more done in less time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Increased focus necessarily precludes constant interruption and distraction. According to Gloria Mark<\/a>, a researcher in the field of interruption science, \u201cthe average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, a worker can take nearly a half-hour to resume the original task\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"time<\/figure>\n

That\u2019s 30 minutes wasted. Because you checked your email or responded to a message. 30 whole minutes!<\/em> Now think for a minute about how often you\u2019re interrupted by the ping of an incoming message, or a coworker coming over to chat, or that desire to just quickly check your email. Think about how much more you could achieve if you had spent those 30 minutes focusing on your task. Exactly.<\/p>\n

(No wonder the average person only actually works for 3 out of the 8 hours<\/a> of their work day.)<\/p>\n

Now, while we can\u2019t all afford to drop off the grid completely every time we want to get some work done, there are lots of things you can do to carve out time to focus. Here\u2019s where time blocking comes in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take time blocking seriously, dedicating ten to twenty minutes every evening to building my schedule for the next day\u2026 My goal is to make sure progress is being made on the right things at the right pace for the relevant deadlines.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aCal\u00a0Newport<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

How to Time-Block<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"weekly<\/figure>\n

It\u2019s really pretty simple:<\/p>\n