Ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get your work done?

It’s a common feeling, especially when the pressures of schoolwork, extra-curricular activities and revision seem to be piling up. We get it, we’ve been there too.

But could the way you manage your time improve your productivity?

Today, we’re exploring “time blocking” and how this simple productivity technique can help you achieve better grades and a better work-life balance. We’ll also look at “task batching”. But more on that later… 

More free time and more productive work? We promise, it’s not too good to be true. Here’s how you can put time blocking into action.

What is time blocking?

Time blocking is a simple and effective time-management technique. It’s helped students, employees and CEOs supercharge their productivity and results. Use it to turn your daily schedule into individual “blocks” of time. Each block represents a specific task that you aim to complete within a specific time period. 

Wait. It can’t be that simple… can it?

Well, there are a few more things to consider. But at its heart, time blocking is a wonderfully straightforward technique for managing your time. That’s why it works!

 

How does time blocking work?

Time blocking works best when you start with small increments of time and gradually build up.

You could start with as little as 10 or 15 minutes devoted to organising notes on a specific subject or recapping flashcards. Over time, build the length of each block to 30 minutes or even an hour.

Time blocking is all about deliberately creating meaningful blocks of activity in your day. 

This doesn’t just have to be schoolwork and revision. You could reserve an hour for exercise, 30 minutes for meditation in the morning – or even a couple of hours for socialising and relaxing. 

It ensures your schedule is realistic, beneficial and genuinely improves your work-life balance.

If you do this in advance, the feeling of starting each day with a schedule (knowing what you want to achieve and how you want to do it) is fantastic. Trust us. It removes a layer of stress and procrastination, letting you get on with what matters to you.

Have a dedicated weekly review (yep, scheduled in your time-blocking plan!) to take stock of what’s coming up in your week ahead. As part of this, make a rough sketch of each workday, review any tasks you didn’t finish (maybe giving yourself more time in future) and adjust your schedule for any new tasks on the horizon.

 

Why should students try time blocking?

Here’s just a few ways time blocking helps…

• Juggling different subjects, projects and responsibilities becomes more manageable.
• Avoid your day getting broken-up with distractions, emails or social media notifications.
• Prioritise important tasks and activities – making your time feel meaningful, intentional and purposeful.
• Gain extra time. With more productivity and focus you’ll actually have more free time.
• A more disciplined approach to essays, classwork and revision.
• Finding time and space for creativity and “big-picture thinking”. When you’re not burdened by other tasks in the back of your mind, deep thinking is easier.
• Encourages peace of mind and greater work-life balance. With a clearer idea of your weekly tasks and priorities, there’s less stress and uncertainty.

So, it’s pretty clear there are some major benefits to time blocking. But how do you put it into practice?

Here’s a few step-by-step examples of time blocking in use.

1. Prioritise and strategize – start by creating a list of all your tasks as well as short and long-term goals. Think about how to prioritise your work to support these goals. For example, a long-term goal might be improving your Maths grades. Could you focus slightly more time and attention on these areas?
2. Build your blocks – once you know what activities you’ve got (and what you want to prioritise) it’s time to create a calendar. Put dates at the top, and section off your blocks of time underneath. Make sure you’ve got enough space for as many small blocks as you want. This could be (for instance) half-hour segments, each dedicated to specific tasks.
3. Put similar blocks together – try to group your activities according to task types. For instance, rapidly switching between essay writing, quick-fire flashcard tests and then back to essays again can get tiring, fast! Grouping similar tasks will help you maintain focus and creativity.
4. Leave yourself a cushion – don’t forget to leave a “cushion” of time between your blocks. You’re a human, not a robot after all. It’s natural to get tired, need a break, or plan for unexpected interruptions. This means you’ll avoid burnout and stress, increasing productivity while balancing work/rest time.
5. Make it a habit – if you’re putting time blocking into practice, make it a habit. Try sticking to your routine for at least a month, and then review. Are there any ways you can improve your schedule, make more time for social and wellbeing activities (these are just as important!) or customise your blocks?

 

What is task batching?

If you’re getting started with time blocking, you might want to consider something called “task batching”. This is another great time-management technique, that when combined with time blocking, helps keep things productive and streamlined.

Task batching helps group your work into clusters. 

Think about subjects that need common skills (think English Literature and English Language) or similar tasks. This could mean bullet-pointed notes across your subjects or just tackling those social media messages you’ve been meaning to get back to. 

Whatever your tasks are, you can batch them.

By batching your work, this helps maintain focus and productivity. Think about tasks as three different types:

• Low concentration: For instance, organising your notes, replying to messages or tidying your desk.
• Medium concentration: Note-taking, timelines, flashcards, small homework tasks etc.
• High concentration: Such as essay writing, reading and research, revision and memorisation.

If you think of these groups as physical areas, it makes sense you’ll spend less time “travelling” between them if you’re not constantly jumping around. Instead of zipping between tasks, it’s more efficient to focus on one area before moving onto the next. 

When combined with pre-planned blocks of time, it’s a real winner…

 

What are the benefits of task batching?

Task batching has all the same benefits as time blocking, helping increase your productivity, reduce stress and improve focus.

In addition, it’s a fantastic time-management technique because it recognizes the natural way our brain functions. 

It’s a simple truth, but we work best when we focus on one thing at a time. 

Think of your brain like a computer. If there are lots of tabs open at once, and you’re constantly switching between them, it’s going to work slower. So why not apply this to your schoolwork?

 

Final Thoughts 

Remember, whether you’re time blocking, task batching (or even day theming or time boxing for that matter… yep, there’s a whole world of productivity techniques out there) it’s all about a schedule that works for you.

Everyone learns differently. Some people are best in the morning, and others might prefer high-concentration tasks in the afternoon. The important thing is consistency and forming a habit that sticks. 

Once you’re in the routine of planning your time, we promise… you’ll never look back.

 

If you’d like help organising your schoolwork, revision or increasing your productivity and work-life balance – get in touch today. Our academic coaches are experienced in developing time-management techniques for students, and we’d love to help.