Productivity and time management is something I’ve been talking about quite a bit here on Diary of the Mind, and that’s because it’s so important. In our modern day world, we have so many more things to do other than school, and properly managing our time is essential to having success in anything we do. I’ve shown you multiple ways to manage this time, with our article on the best time management apps and our productivity, homework, and study tips. However, how exactly do you get this scheduling done? That’s what time blocking is for. Here, I have for you the best time blocking planner for you to use everyday.
What Is Time Blocking?
Before we start, it’s important for you to understand what time blocking is. What is time blocking? Time blocking is the scheduling of your time in chunks to maintain productivity and keep up with what you have to do. You take blocks of time, like 8:00-10:00 or 5:00-6:00, to keep sections of time dedicated to specific things for you to do with your day. For us students, this would be sections for homework, sport, and even making time for videogames. It’s an excellent strategy for time management because it’s how structured it is while not being too strict and enclosing.
Steps to Time Blocking
So, now you know what time blocking is, but how exactly do you do it? Here are some easy steps for you to follow to start time blocking. You can use these steps as a frame of reference to make your own planner before I show you a full PDF planner.
#1 : Set your goals
First, you need to know what you want to gain from time blocking. What is the reason for your time block? Is it to make it a daily habit? Is it to help you prepare for upcoming exams? Or is it to give you direction in your day so you’re not stuck on your phone? Either way, you need to understand for yourself why you need time blocking. And it doesn’t need to be one reason. It can be multiple. Think about these few questions:
- How do I want time blocking to help me?
- Is time blocking for long-term or short-term reasons?
- How rigorous do I want my time-blocking to be?
- How much will my time-blocking impact my future habits?
What these questions will help you do is align yourself with what you really want to do. It’s important for you to know what you want from time blocking. This way, you can design your time blocking to fit your exact needs.
#2 : Get a time blocking planner
The next thing you need after you figure out why you are time blocking is what you’re going to do it on. For that, you need a time blocking planner. This could be numerous things. You could buy a large calendar with every day of the year to make a daily schedule. A Google document or spreadsheet to block out every part of your day could be great option as well. You could even stick a small whiteboard on the fridge and write everything down there.
But I know why you clicked this article. You want a planner, and a nice one, that you can use for free. Well, this isn’t the wrong place. Here, I’m giving you a lot of useful tips on time blocking, but that’s not all. Right below this section is the time blocking planner I have created just for you all. You can download it, print it, and use it to all your pleasure.
#3 : Figure out the number of “variations”
What do I mean by “variations”? Well every schedule for everyday can’t be the same. As students, all our days are very different and require many different activities to be done. For example, if we’re talking between weekdays and weekends, there are drastically different schedules due to the different regularities in each day. Try answering these questions to narrow the numbers down:
- Do I have sports? On what days? How much time do they take?
- Do I have clubs? On what days? How much time do they take?
- What more do I have on weekends than weekdays?
- What other extracurriculars are specific to singular days in my week?
All these questions will absolutely help you figure out the number of schedules you need. Consistency and regularity is most definitely a necessity. In this particular study, it was found that workers with a regular work schedule were much better in their wellbeing. However, our reality is fluid. Schedules cannot be extremely rigid, and might need to change every now and then. It’s important for you to be able to prepare yourself around that irregularity so that you can truly be on top of your game.
#4 : List out the activities and to-do’s
Next step, figure out what you want to do with your time that you’re blocking. This hardly needs more explanation, because it is a central part of any scheduling process. However, with your variations, you might have different activities to add on each of the schedules. Here are some activities you might be forgetting to add on your lists.
- Laundry → washing clothes, drying clothes, and folding clothes
- Mealtimes → cooking, eating, and prepping food
- Freetime → hobbies, video games, and relaxation
- Exercise → going to the gym, recreational sport, yoga/pilates
Overall, these are just ideas for you to look at to add your activities list. It’s regular normal things that you don’t think you need to schedule for yourself, but you do need to do it. They take up time after all, and your other activities are shifted by it as well.
#5 : Put it all together
Last but most definitely not least, you need to put it all together. Get that planner out and start writing and ordering out your activities. Get your timeline straightened out for every version of day planners you need, and set them in a place that will be best for you to follow it. Remember, you can do this your way. Any way you think is most effective for you is the way to do it.
Your Time Blocking Planner
Now, the thing you’ve all been waiting for…the time blocking planner! I’ve made all fo you a FREE time blocking planner (customized to the Diary of the Mind theme) that you can use for any of the time blocking plans you have. Below this, I’ll give you my recocmended instructions to using this time blocking planner to maximize it’s potentential.
How to Use it
It might seem simple enough using this planner. Just download it and print it out, right? Well, that is very effective, of course, but I want to give you some instructions that’ll maximize this planner’s potential. Let’s get into it, shall we?
- Download – Of course, this is the first step. Press that download button right below the PDF to download it into your computer. Make sure to save the file with a name you can remember so that you can always go back to it. You can also upload it to a drive of some sort, like Google Drive so you can have it on any device you so desire.
- Print – Next, you have to print the file. This is also why I reccomend uploading the file to Google Drive or soemting similar. It’s always easier to print from there. Anyway, you simple press the the “print” icon and choose your printer. make sure you’re on the same WiFi network as your printer, otherwise you won’t find it. I always make that mistake. However, if you are fully following my instructions, only print ONE paper. That’s right, only ONE. You can make it double sided if you want but you only need ONE.
- Sheet Protector – I know, it’s weird. What does a sheet protector have to do with any of this? Well, this is why I told you to only print one sheet. Put the sheet inside the sheet protector. It’s like a whiteboard now! You can use dry-erase markers to write everything you have to do for the day and erase it for the next. Hang it on your fridge, in your room, or just anywhere you know you can see it. You could lament the paper as well, if you can, to give you the same results. Now, you can reuse the same sheet, without wasting paper and time!
Conclusion
Well, that’s about it for this article. Now, you have your own time blocking planner, instructions on how to sue it to the bets of its ability, as well as the broader steps you need to know to understand time blocking. Trust me, it’s not hard, just a bit overwhelming to get started. That’s why this article is here for you. To help you know exactly what you need to do. Don’t you worry about scheduling your day for “maximum productivity”, because everything you need is here on the Diary of the Mind. This isn’t the only article here on this topic. There are a vast array of articles on productivity and study tips, specifically tailored for students, and numerous more to come.
So, what are you waiting for? Start time blocking and planning your today for a more productive tommorow!
