Why Time Blocking Fails, and How to Make It Work
Now and then, I look back at my day and panic.
“What did I do all day!?” I howl, as I see a trail of half-done tasks in my wake.
Then I hop on the internets and hunt for strategies to get my focus back. The number one strategy I find is called Time Blocking.
The way Time Blocking helps, so it goes, is that you take a piece of paper (or your phone’s calendar), break it up into half-hour snippets from morning to evening, and color an hour of those snippets a bright hue labeled “Deep Work”. During that hour of power, you will focus on one thing and one thing only.
I’ve tried time blocking several times, and the same problem always hits. I’ll be all prepped, glass of water at hand, book open, bathroom break in the past. And within five minutes, I’m washing the dishes, or answering an infinitely urgent unimportant email, or answering the phone. Something, anything.
The problem with time blocking is, the calendar has zero power to induce focus. It is only a suggestion. And one that I discarded as useless to less than perfect people.
Until just recently.
A few days ago, I was reminded of the secret that makes Time Blocking work. Especially for easily distracted guys like myself.
That secret, dear Reader, is the firewall.
There are two aspects of the firewall, one external, and one internal. I’ll illustrate both below, and give an additional tip that helps reinforce the wall.
The External Firewall
Instead of thinking “block of time”, you have to think “time that blocks everything else out”. You have to consciously decide what distractions you will block from your attention during your scheduled deep work.
These excluded distractions include: email, texting, cleaning the house, getting food, answering the phone, “just checking the news”, social media, notifications of any kind, Teams/Slack/Discord chats.
Any kind of notification whatever has to be blocked out.
“But what if my wife calls me?” You can call her back.
“But what if my boss pings me?” You can respond later.
“But what if I remember I needed to call my mom?” You can wait until your time block is over.
In tech, we call this kind of thing a “firewall”. Anything that’s a potential security threat gets stopped at the wall, including fire.
To an ADHD brain, or possibly anyone with focus problems, notifications can seem extremely urgent, even though they are relatively unimportant. This is especially true if the notifications come from a person.
For example, my boy called me on the phone today. He actually called me a few times in a span of 5 minutes. Finally I answered the phone. What was so urgent? “Dad, where is the TV remote?”
A person who is clamoring for your attention is trying to infect you with their sense of urgency. But their urgency is NOT your urgency. Most of the time, that person can either find some other way to handle their problem, or they can wait until you are ready to help. It is very rare that, right during your hour of power, something of earth shattering importance will require your immediate attention.
“But I’m a doctor and someone could be dying.” Fine, of course there are exceptions. We are not cultists, and we are allowed to be distracted by important things. But that does not mean that we must bend to every notification.
Most routes of getting your attention these days can be intercepted by something like the out-of-office email, which says when you will be next available, and a way to contact you if it’s extremely important. For example, in Teams, you can add an automatic response: “In a focus block - if it’s a true emergency, call my cell 610-555-1234”.
These speed bumps against external distractions can mean the difference between doing something important, and getting interrupted unnecessarily. They provide hope for a successful, concentrated block of productivity.
The Internal Firewall
“Ach, I forgot to order that one thing!”
Usually within about five minutes of starting my time block, I will remember something I need to do. If I don’t go do it, my anxiety about it will grow and grow until it’s unbearable, and no more work can get done.
In this situation, I found the simplest most effective solution is to jot a short note down on a piece of paper. Now, the paper can hold that anxiety, and remind me to handle the thing when I’m done focusing.
The act of just writing down the note relieves my anxiety, because most of the anxiety is borne out of a fear that I’ll forget again. But if I write it down, there is no way I will forget. Hence, no need for the anxiety.
It’s important here that you actually use pen and paper (or at least a writing utensil and something to write on). For example, let’s say you’re doing your work on a computer. Something comes up, so you go open Notepad. Where was Notepad? Oh yeah, next to Copilot. Maybe I should just tell Copilot. Oh, there was that thing I wanted to ask Copilot. Wait, let’s jot down the note. Now where do I save the note? Damn, this drive is cluttered. I should move this file to this folder. And the hour is now over.
The computer is dangerous. Every extra app or tab you open is a minefield of distractions waiting to get you.
Just grab a piece of paper and a pencil. You can throw it away when you are done, along with your anxiety.
Pro Tip - The Game
You’re about half way through your time block, and you start getting hungry. Can you make it to the end of your block without eating?
The end of your time block is a challenge. Will you make it? That element of challenge, I find, is very useful.
It adds a sense of game to the session. If you get to the end of the session before giving in to your urges, it feels good. Almost like you won!
And the prospective of that win can be just enough dopamine hit to keep you going until you hit the breakthrough you hoped for during your hour of power.
The Checklist
Next time you plan out a block of time for concentrated work, make sure you are prepared:
- Pen and paper on the desk
- Phone on airplane mode, computer notifications muted
- Timer set for 45-60 minutes
- Glass of water
What great things you will accomplish when you block out the distractions!
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