Last week I got a text inviting me to a neighbor’s 40th birthday zoom call. Poor girl, I thought. A milestone birthday in quarantine. That’s not fair.
Then I read the fine details and it said to plan on staying on the call for an hour and a half. What? I liked this girl but spending 90 minutes of my Saturday on a Zoom call with strangers (I didn’t recognize any other number in the group text) no thank you!
I peeked at my calendar and smiled. The call landed on the day we leave for vacation.
Saved by the calendar. (I love my digital calendar. Here's a guide on how I've set it up.)
What if that space in my calendar was free? Have you ever said yes to something just because your calendar was empty? Stop that!
Let me introduce you to time chunking (aka time blocking). Its a system for making appointments with yourself every day so you can focus your energy on the most important things. Divide your day into blocks forcing you to focus on one thing at a time.
Time chunking will remove the busy badge. Here are some reasons you should try it:
Right about now you’re thinking this sounds a bit too rigid.
Let me share some tips on how to soften the edges. The trick to making this work is to remain flexible. Leave space and time between blocks. This is vital for coffee breaks, potty breaks, or just a mental break between all that work.
Here are more tips:
“The Bad News is Time Flies, The Good News is You’re the Pilot”
Time blocking/chunking is just one of the many time management strategies out there. But, it’s a popular one for good reasons.
It takes some practice to get it right (being popular still comes with its drama). Reach out if you want some help. We’ve got this my friend.
You don't have to chose between your personal and professional life. Here's my secret weapon for getting the family chaos to calm.