If working from home is a new concept for you, you might be finding it difficult to be productive. For some people it comes easy and for others it can be a bit of a learning curve.

Working from home sounds great in theory, but is it really as easy-going as it sounds? Getting out of bed and staying in your PJ’s all day, drinking coffee, and working from the comfort of your own home, what could possibly be bad about that?

Like I said, it can take some time to learn and adjust how to separate your work life from your home life when your work is at home. I have found that using time blocking helps me to prioritize my tasks and increase my productivity.

Here’s how you can use time blocking to work productively and efficiently from home.

What is time blocking and how does it work?

Time blocking is planning out your time in advance and dedicating specific “blocks” of time for certain tasks and responsibilities. Just like a budget tells you where your money needs to go, time blocking tells you where your time needs to go.

Just like anything else, time blocking takes resolve and commitment. It’s one thing to take the time to schedule your day out in advance and plan for what you are going to do with your time, but sticking to that plan is all up to you.

When you block out your schedule to focus on one task at a time, you can be up to 80% more productive than if you were to split your time across multiple projects or tasks. By also scheduling time for things such as checking your email, Facebook, Slack, etc., you are giving yourself permission to spend time doing the things that you know you are going to spend time doing anyways and, therefore, this helps you to push those things aside until the allotted time and focus in on the task that’s in front of you.

How to start using time blocking

Here is a simple step-by-step guide on how you can set up your own time blocking schedule. I like to use Google Calendar for my schedule because it syncs with my iCal, Acuity/Calendly, and most other major apps out there.

Make it personal

One of the reasons why time blocking is so attractive is because it allows you to schedule in time for your personal life instead of allowing your work to consume your entire day.

The first thing you want to do is block off the consistent daily and weekly routine tasks on your schedule. These are things like your morning and evening routines, and any weekly recurring tasks such as yoga, karate class, soccer, etc.

Don’t forget to go through your calendar and add in any pre-scheduled doctor appointments, conferences, vacations, and any other one-off events that need to be blocked off.

Pro Tip: If you aren’t sure how much time you are spending on certain tasks, try to record your time for an entire week by writing down everything that you do each day and how long you spend doing each task. This will show you how long you are spending on work, household chores, and things like Facebook.

Segment your work

Now that your personal life is accounted for, it’s time to prioritize your workday into blocks of productivity. Schedule blocks for deep work sessions where you can sit down and work on focused work for a determined amount of time.

Break up these deep work sessions with breaks of shallow work, or administrative tasks, such as checking emails or spending time engaging and networking on social media.

Try to schedule your deep work sessions for your most productive times of the day and add the shallow work sessions during the times of day when you know you’re going to be in a slump. Remember, we aren’t machines and we all have a natural productivity cycle during the day. Planning around this cycle will boost your natural productivity and make you all the more efficient.

Pro Tip: Add small areas of white space or buffers to your calendar to allow yourself time to switch gears before you start on the next task.

Fill in your to-do list

Write down a list of what work needs to be completed for the week and then use that list to fill in your blocks of work.

Some days or weeks will obviously have more work than others and your schedule will need to adjust accordingly, just remember that time blocking is all about giving you the framework of how to plan and use your time productively.

Pro Tip: Use a good task management system like Asana or ClickUp to keep track of your projects and deadlines

Schedule in time for your goals

Whether it’s a personal goal or a business goal, putting it on your schedule and blocking off time gives you the permission to actually work on it. It also allows you to track the time you’re actually spending on your goals and the progress you make.

Take a look at your schedule and see where you can fit in an extra 30-60 minutes to work towards your goal for the week. If you have a busy week and don’t have any spare time, you might have some overflow from another task that you have set aside time for that could be used towards your goal.

Pro Tip: Schedule time for breaks where you can get outside and take a walk or grab a cup of coffee. You’ll find that you are actually much more productive afterward.

Make the most out of your productive time

Now that you have your schedule outlined for the week (and remember that it is just that, an outline), you are ready to start working. In order to get the most out of this time blocking method and to make yourself even more efficient, here are a few things that you can do.

Close your email inbox. Keeping that tab open for your email is a constant pull for your attention away from the work that you are supposed to be focusing on. Keep your email closed and put aside until the time that you have scheduled it for and then during that time block, you can focus on responding to and sending out as many emails as you can.
Turn off notifications. You can’t stop your work every time you get a Facebook notification or Slack notification or else you would never get anything else done. Remember, during those deep work sessions you are super-focused on the work that’s in front of you for that allotted time frame.

Try the Pomodoro method. This time management technique encourages you to break your work down into 25 minute chunks, each separated by 5 minute breaks. You set a timer like this one and then work until the time is finished and then reward yourself with a quick 5 minute break, followed by another 25 minute Pomodoro session.

Give time blocking a try

If you have been struggling with how to juggle your work, home, and personal life, give time blocking a try for a few solid weeks and see how it works for you. Remember to give yourself a little flexibility, but also commit to your time (both work and personal) and see how it goes.

Even if it isn’t the right fit for you, time blocking will give you great insight into how you are spending your time and how much you can truly fit into your schedule once you break it down.

How To Use Time Blocking to Work Productively From Home