How Time Blocking Can Work For You
Happy New Year again; I feel like I will be saying this all January long. What is the time limit on when it is appropriate to stop saying Happy New Year....Does anyone else feel like they don't know when to stop saying it? If I see an old friend in June is a "Happy New Year" greeting still acceptable???? Help a girl out ya'll 😂
Okay let me get to it, I know a lot of new and aspiring planners still have full-time jobs, and sometimes it might feel overwhelming managing your job and your business but time blocking is a skill that will help you this new year. Practicing this over the years helped me run my business successfully even before I knew it was a thing.
Time blocking works because it requires a weekly review of your schedule to prioritize tasks. Once you’ve sized up your week, adjust your time blocks accordingly for each day. In addition, reviews at the end of your day will ensure that you account for any unfinished items and new tasks. Furthermore, time blocking is exponentially more effective because it’s built on the premise of single-tasking, unlike multitasking. Multitasking divides our attention and ability to focus.
So after reading all of this from Better Up you might be thinking, so what's next for me. I say start small. Don't overcomplicate it. First off designate how many hours each day you want to spend on your wedding planning business. Here is an example:
-Monday-Friday dedicate 2-3 uninterrupted hours to your business. You can decide what this block of time will be. I once heard a "thought leader" say you should spend the first hour of your day doing something for your business before you do something for your employer. If you want to take this approach you can consider getting up early enough to do some work for your business between 8am and 9am before work begins at 9am. Another option is working as soon as you get off work from 5pm-7pm. You have to determine what is best for your schedule but the point here is to dedicate time daily on your calendar for your business.
-Weekends are a great time to catch up on work. If you are not out doing a client meeting make sure you have a dedicated time on your calendar weekly where you are working on your business. For example, you can dedicate the first four hours of your Saturday from 9am-1pm working on and in your business. You can consider doing two hours on Sunday too but I personally don't like to work on Sundays except I have to. I believe in living a life of balance so the idea of having a full day of rest and relaxation appeals to me. Again do what works for your schedule.
Aim to spend 20 hours at the minimum a week working on and in your business. This can be broken down into three hours daily on the weekdays and five hours on the weekend.
I can share more detail in another blog, on how to maximize your time to ensure you are meeting your business goals. But for now, if you implement this time blocking and focus on doing the deep work required you will realize you will get to accomplish so much and grow your business.
The cards are in your hands, your ability to produce and be successful a lot of times lives in your hands, and your ability to be a focused and disciplined person. Focus and discipline don't happen to you, you have to be intentional about it. Don't just say you will do it, set out this time on your calendar and if you are unsure this will work, just try it out for one month and see how much it improves your productivity and effectiveness.
