How to Time Block Your Day to Increase Your Success and Keep Your Sanity is a quick read (3 min) but if you don’t like to read scroll down to the bottom of this post and you can watch the video instead. If success is what you’re after in 2021 then read on. But if you’re also at a point in your life where success at the expense of your sanity is no longer an option than this article is for you. Time blocking doesn’t have to be complicated. Consider the next three things I’m about to share with you- three simple but very strategic tips – and you’ll be light years ahead of your competition.

STEP ONE: AUDIT YOUR TIME

You need to be honest about what you’re doing with your time. For at least one week try and audit your day. Every single minute of it. I think you’ll be shocked at how you spend much of your day. Sure, we’re all busy. No argument there. But I also know from personal experience that there is a great deal of time wasted on tasks that do not always move me one step closer to my goals. So for one week you’ll simply jot down all your activities and tasks. That’s first. Consider taking the second week to track the amount of time spent on each task. Short on time? Then combine the two assignments and get your time audit done in one week. Make sure to write down things such as travel time to and from activities, personal tasks and activities that must be on your calendar (the gym, doctors appointments, church, sports practices), and also recurring tasks for work such as weekly sales meetings or monthly reports that are due by a certain time. No doubt, there are a lot of things that must get done during your day – just be sure to write them all down and the time associated with that task. Good luck.

STEP TWO: IDENTIFY YOUR INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES

If you’re in sales, and especially if you’re in sales, this next section of information applies directly to you. Next, you’re going to write down two, three, or even four of your highest income generating activities. What’s an income generating activity, you ask? Well, only you can be the real judge of that and especially at it applies to your line of work. These should activities (not to be confused with tasks), when implemented with fidelity and consistency, yield amazing results. A few examples for someone in a Sales role might cold calling, setting appointments, conducting the appointment, meeting with current clients, building courses and content for prospects, following up with closed business…whatever the activities may be, write them down. But also be honest about what is an income generating activity vs. what is not. My next blog and video will go into more depth about that. Please also note: These activities should align with your annual, quarterly, monthly and even weekly goals. Don’t have goals? Get some. It’s March. Your smaller goals (i.e. daily and weekly) should support and move you closer to your bigger goals (such as your annual goals). Once you have your high payoff activities identified, and you’ve cross checked to ensure they align with your goals, it’s time to get to work. So keep reading – you’re almost done.

STEP THREE: HOW OFTEN AND WHEN WILL YOU WORK DIRECTLY ON THESE ACTIVITIES?

This last activity brings us full circle: You’ll want to identify the best time in the day to work directly on those high payoff activities. You’ll need to identify a few things:

1. THE WHEN: What time of day should you be working on these activities? Should you be working on them first thing in the morning? Or have you found a specific activity that can only be done in the afternoon? Let’s say, for example, the activity is cold calling. Perhaps you can reach more people between the hours of 9-10 AM than you can 3-4 PM. Then adjust your time block for the morning.
2. THE WHERE: Location, location, location. Nowhere is this more true than in real estate. Make sure to identify the best place (location or setting) to work income producing tasks. It might sound silly because for most of us it will often be at a desk with your device – but everyone is different. With more and more families at home these days perhaps you need to tuck yourself away in a bedroom where you can be (mostly) uninterrupted. Or maybe you need to go to a coffee shop, hotel lobby, or it might even be that sitting in your car where it’s quite and you’re free of (most) distractions) makes the most sense. Be creative. Be flexible. But be intentional.
3. THE FREQUENCY: When looking at the best time of day to work on these activities also ask yourself, “How often do I need to work on this activity? Once a day? Twice a day? Once a week? Monthly?” Most income generating activities need to be done every single day. You’ll want to identify the number of times in a week (or in a day) these activities need to be conducted and then write them in to your calendar. The second part will be to identify the amount (or length) time it will take you to complete the activity. Some activities might require only thirty minutes while others might require upwards of two hours. You’ll have to do some homework and critical observation to identify the time length needed. Perhaps you’ll find that too much time is being spent on an activity. Your time audit (refer to step one) might identify that too much time or not enough is being spent on an activity. Whatever the case, do not skip this important step.

REACTIONARY TIME: A CAUTIONARY TALE

In my next post I’ll dive a little deeper on reactionary time, but for now you’ll want to make sure you include thirty to sixty minutes each day to play ‘catch up’. Reactionary time is a block of time where you are free to circle back around to an activity that has gone uncompleted from the previous or current day. Think of this time much like you would a Study Hall. You can catch up or get ahead on things that are left hanging from earlier blocks of time (just like in school). If you’ve blocked 90 minutes for calls and but in that window you find yourself out of time, then my strong suggestion is to wrap up and move on to your next blocked activity. Leave room at the end of the day to circle back and complete the activity or simply stop when the time is up and until that activity is scheduled again. Otherwise you run the risk of getting further and further behind and having to eliminate a separate block of time altogether.

THE WRAP UP:

To begin to block out your time in a meaningful way is to move the needle of success in a positive direction. To my knowledge no one has ever gotten less done once they started to time block. If anything, you’ll become a Ninja when it comes to efficiency and getting things done. In a business, especially Sales, you cannot risk putting your high payoff activities on the back burner. Audit your time, write down your payoff activities and how often you should do them, identify the time of day to work on them, make sure all of this aligns with your goals and then get started. Adjust as needed. And adjust you will. You’ll find success not only in the process but the implementation as well. Good luck!