Time blocking is a productivity tool to help with brain overload, also known as "scatter brain".

Watch the Vlog:

Read the blog:

Picture the little exploding head, mind blown emoji🤯. "That is scatter brain". It's also known as brain overload or just plain overwhelm. Time blocking can help combat that and also help you maximize your productivity.

I work with virtual assistants who support multiple clients and I also support online businesses that have a lot of projects, tasks, ideas, things going on all at the same time. When you work online, It is very easy to get distracted and lose sight of the tasks that you're trying to complete or the goals that you're working toward. This is where time blocking is so super helpful.

I have several jobs, so to speak, because I have multiple clients plus my own business here at Limitless Business Online. Sometimes I get asked "how do you get all these jobs done? You have multiple areas of focus. How do you stay focused?"

Having several clients can cause overwhelm and "scatter brain". That is certainly what I feel like sometimes. It's when you feel scattered because you have so much to do in a day and you're overwhelmed. Maybe you don't really have that much to do in a day but your brain feels like you do!

My suggestion to combat brain overload is to time block your day. 

So what is time blocking?

Here's an official definition: time blocking is a time management technique in which you schedule specific blocks of time for different tasks or activities throughout your day. It involves setting aside dedicated periods for focused work on particular projects, meetings, personal activities, or any other significant tasks.

The key principle of time blocking is to allocate specific time slots for specific activities, helping you to organize and structure your day more efficiently.

Isn't that very official sounding? (Of course, I did not write that. Thank you to AI for the help on that.😉)

Basically, you decide what chunks or blocks of time you are doing certain activities. It could be for thirty minute chunks or maybe hour long chunks, which is pretty much what I do for each client. Then within those blocks, you decide what tasks are being completed. 

How does time blocking help with scatter-brain?

1. Time blocking helps you with scatterbrain because it helps you to feel grounded.

It allows you to get all of those thoughts like "Oh, don't forget about x y z, don't forget about calling the vet, don't forget about this or that, running that errand" out of your brain.

When you time block you know that that task is going to get done in that time block. You can even write it in that time block.

Instead of just trying to remember all the things that you need to do or just putting them in a giant, super long to do list, you actually decide in advance when you're going to do them and you don't have to think about them anymore. So it really helps you to feel grounded.

 2. Time blocking helps you focus on just one task at a time which increases productivity.

Multitasking is a myth. Trying to do multiple important tasks together does not work and research shows you're less effective in any of the important tasks if you're multi-tasking.

Of course you can cook dinner and talk to your children and watch TV at the same time. You can do those kinds of things the same time, but true multi-tasking with deep concentration doesn't work. It's a myth.

Time blocking gives you increased productivity because you know the time you're going to focus in and concentrate on that one thing.

3. Time Blocking also gives you a visual representation of your day.

If you are a visual person, a visual learner, it gives you a visual guide to your day and I find this helps me to feel more focused as well. I like to think of it as a flow for the day. You can time block and say to yourself "here's how I would like my day to flow", knowing that everything won't go exactly as planned.

Inside the planner that I'm creating, The On Purpose Planner, there are actually two columns for time blocking because you will inevitably have to shift things in the second half of the day. It gives you a visual of your day, though, in a way that is better than a digital Calendar.

In a digital calendar you record your appointments.

In a daily time blocking calendar you plan the day. It's better because it's handwritten and it shows you when you're doing all the tasks outside of just appointments.

4. Time blocking also helps battle procrastination because you have preset time blocks your when you're doing certain things.

Whether you plan your day the night before or you plan your day in the morning, you predetermine when you're doing those tasks in the certain blocks of time. It gives you a structure for accountability to yourself and it helps with procrastination.

5. Time blocking can also help to reduce the stress of a super long to do list.

It is helpful to "brain dump" where you dump everything you're thinking that you need to do into one list. That is helpful to clear the brain, but when you look at this giant list of to dos, it's pretty overwhelming. You may think "how am I gonna get this all done? When am I gonna do it?"

When you time block it, it helps to chunk it down into, more reasonable, actionable, steps. It takes away overwhelm and reduces stress. 

How do you actually do time blocking?

Watch the video above at 10:46 to see my examples in The On Purpose Planner.

By the way, preorders for the on purpose planner are going to start being received in April so you can have an On Purpose Planner for Q3!

The on purpose planner is for someone with a very full life that has a lot going on. So preorders will start being taken to get planners to you in time for Quarter 3.

Are you curious about time blocking your day, or do you already time block your day?

• If you don't already practice time blocking, how do you manage those super long to do lists?

• How do you eliminate scatterbrain?

• If you have this super long to do list or you get distracted when you're working online, how do you manage that without time blocking? I'd love to hear...

Time blocking is a helpful tool to minimize "scatter brain", to stay focused, and feel grounded in how your day will flow.

If you're not already time blocking, would you like to try it?

I'd be happy to send you five days of time blocking pages from The On Purpose Planner as a FREE 5 day download. Go to limitlessbusinessonline.com/planner and enter your information for the 5 day sample pages with the time blocking calendar days.

Get 5 sample pages of The On Purpose Planner HERE.