Why you should start working in time blocks

Here's the case for more discipline...

Discipline not only helps you get the work done, it also empowers you to complete the work faster. When I finally decided to write the Amplify book— amidst a busy season of wrapping other projects and launching several books— I sat down a few afternoons at a nearby restaurant-pub and invested 3-4 hours into this project.  I had already typed the rough outline into my computer, so I knew where things were headed. As such, the words readily flowed… with ease.

Then, I found myself stepping back into to the grind of some of those unfinished,  almost done contracts. Unable to break away and dive back into this for a full 7 days, Amplify sat “on the shelf.”

“Geez,” I thought as I began pounding at the keyboard again. “It feels like I’ve lost the flow…”

In reality, I had. It took me a few hours of chiseling at the book to finally feel like I found my groove. 

Here’s why: by stepping into the rhythm of the other projects, I— by necessity— stepped away from the cadence of this project. That meant that when I finally had time to step back into it, well… it took a few minutes to find my grounding.

(And I only took a week off! This wasn’t a month— or months.)

I was back at the same pub where I like to sit on the front porch and write when I found my rhythm. Beth had just left the nearby salon and texted, so I invited her to come sit with me for a few minutes. It was time for a short mental break, anyway. 

“How’s the project coming?” she asked.

I explained my aforementioned observation about stepping back into it, and then observed,  “I think I’m able to write books fast, because I write books fast.”

“What do you mean?” Beth asked. “That sentence sounds odd.”

“Well, it’s not unusual for me to crank out 200 pages in a week. In fact, I turned that client’s workbook into those 4 short books and I transformed his leadership courses into those other 2 short books in the same 5 day period. That’s 6 books in 5 days. That’s super-quick…”

I continued, “Even when I sat down to write my most recent book— before this one— it only took a week. I think I’m able to go fast because, once I get into it, I stay in it…”

“Oh,” she replied, “like your head isn’t cluttered by stepping in and out and in and out…?”

“Exactly,” I said. “Once you get in… if you hold space for that project, you can move so much faster.“ Then— “I think it takes people so much extra time to finish things simply because they hop to something else before they finish. That shifts their mind. Then, they have to reorient and get back into the correct headspace every single time they work on the book or the course or the blog or whatever… just because they’re so preoccupied with so many other things.”

“Put that in the book,” she suggested. “Make sure it’s part of the chapter about discipline.”

You’re reading this now, because of her suggestion back then!

That said, there are things I do to manage the discipline of whatever project I’m working on. I'll share a few NOW, and then others in the upcoming blog posts.

(Go here to see the entire discipline + habits series.)

Clear starts and stops

First, I work in time blocks. 

Here’s what that means: I already have large pre-determined sections of time when I know I’m going to sit at my desk and do whatever needs to be done on various projects. 

Last past summer, for instance, my time blocks looked like: 

•  Monday mornings = my personal website, social media, emails
•  Monday afternoons = content creation, development (i.e., podcasts, etc..) + meetings 
•  Tuesday mornings = Client 1
•  Tuesday afternoons = Client 2 
•  Wednesday mornings = Client 3
•  Wednesday afternoons = meetings
•  Thursday mornings = meetings 
•  Thursday afternoon = Client 4 
•  Friday mornings = Client 2 
•  Friday afternoons = content creation, development (i.e, podcasts, etc.) + meetings

Here’s a two-page spread in the back of my planner where I actually mapped my workflow for one quarter. (This is a month-at-a-glance sketch. The column are days of the week, Monday through Saturday. The rows are weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 of that month.)

I set aside a 1-hour block of time on Sunday afternoons to review my previous week as well as preview my following week. During that time, I generally block off (I actually draw big blocks) around the time segments in my calendar for each of the projects I have going. 

Next up

We'll carry the conversation further in the next post, when I'll discuss the importance of clarifying what happens during those time blocks.

For now, if you need help in this area, take advantage of the special offer below. We'll provide you instant access to training resources, we well as ship your planner the same day we receive your order.

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