ThoughtCrafting Friday Tool: Block Time

ThoughtCrafting Tool Friday : BLOCK TIME

Let's spend some time discussing the tool of Block-Time and how it can provide you with a dramatic improvement of your productivity.

Block Time, to recap, is the allocation of specific time blocks for VERY specific tasks. In the previous posts, I talked about the essential elements of block time and gave you an acronym to remember them FED-UP. Let' go over each of these components quickly then dive into some additional considerations.

F - For FOCUS. When you enter a block of time for doing a task, remember that you are intending to be highly focused. Your task should be on a SINGLE item with a definite endpoint in mind. It's important that your mind become trained to put it's entire energy into that one task when you are in a block. Which brings us to ...

E - for ELMINATING DISTRACTIONS. When you are focused on your task, it's much easier to stay focused with you eliminate all distractions. Turn off the phone. Turn off social media. Close the door and have anyone around you know to NOT disturb you during that period of time. If needed...hang a "don't disturb" sign on the door. And prepare ahead of time with mundane things such as going to the bathroom, getting something to drink, letting the dogs out, etc,, BEFORE you start the block. You don't want these items to interrupt your block time once it's started.

D - is for DEADLINE. It's important to have a deadline for what you want to accomplish. Without the deadline, the urgency you need to stay focus is reduced. You need to create a small level of tension to get you focused on the work you are doing. Deadlines can be incremental and also complete. For example you may have an article you want to write (much like this...). Give yourself a block of time to do the initial draft. Then at another time, a block to edit it and publish it. As I mentioned before, you want to give yourself enough time to achieve what your goal is, and to do it reasonably well, but no so much time to allow you to procrastinate or fail to finish because of analysis paralysis. Good enough is good enough.

U and P are for Unlimited Potential. I believe that this technique can provide you with huge gains in productivity. Tap into your Unlimited Potential.

Now for some "bonus" points. Dan Kennedy has provided some pointers on how he uses block time, and it's pretty intense. But if you were to see the volume of work that he generates and the productivity he achieves...you will be come a believer.

Here are a couple pointers that I have taken away from his notes.
SCHEDULE your block time, far in advance. And schedule it tightly, so that you stay productive the whole day. Don't allow slack times between your blocks (except for your rest periods), which can sidetrack you and throw your entire day off. He schedules FAR in advance (sometimes months) to keep this high level of productivity. Next...consider creating block time for every thing. He schedules all of his phone calls during a specific time period. And each call is a specified length. By doing this, he can honestly cut a wandering conversation by stating he has another call on another line. Pretty clever. 

The elimination of slack time does two things. One, it keeps you in the zone and productive and second, it allows you to get more work done in less time...so that you can "turn it off" and then ENJOY your truly free time without guilt.  

Last, get a better understanding of your personal productivity, and which type of thing you do best at different times. For myself, I am best in a STRATEGIC mode in the AM, and a TACTICAL mode in the PM. I will go into that more at a later time.

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