Time blocking
Give every hour of the workday a job before the day starts
Every block of the day gets assigned to specific work on a calendar, rather than worked off a task list, and the plan is rewritten whenever reality breaks it. The point is not rigid adherence but confronting how many hours you actually have. Practitioners report that the plan being wrong by 11am is normal and not a failure of the system.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Ali AbdaalDoes it
Doctor turned YouTuber · author of Feel-Good Productivity
Calendar blocks carry his week rather than a task list, and the plan gets rewritten as the week moves.
Source: aliabdaal.com: how to build a time management routine“Think of it like making a reservation at a restaurant. By booking a specific time for dinner, you ensure that you have a table waiting for you. Time blocking does the same for your daily tasks, providing a dedicated space for each one.”
aliabdaal.com: How to build a time management routine (opens in a new tab) · 29 Jan 2025 - Cal NewportDoes it
Computer science professor · author of Deep Work
Ten to twenty minutes each evening go on blocking out the next day, and he rewrites the plan whenever it breaks.
Source: calnewport.com: planning every minute of your work day - David SparksDoes it
Apple productivity writer · MacSparky
Blocks the working week out on his calendar, a habit he named hyper-scheduling before realizing everyone else calls it block scheduling. Each one runs an hour or more, with two exceptions he keeps short on purpose: starting up and meditating. By Friday, he notes, the plan looks a lot less tidy than it did on Monday.
Source: MacSparky: Hyper-Scheduling Without Making Yourself Crazy“When the blocks get too small, you spend your time arranging your time instead of doing something. … Regardless, and in spite of my silly name for it, rarely do I schedule a chunk of time less than an hour when I schedule my time.”
MacSparky: Hyper-Scheduling Without Making Yourself Crazy (opens in a new tab) · 11 Feb 2019 - Sahil BloomDoes it
Author · The 5 Types of Wealth
His day runs off boxed calendar blocks rather than a task list, an approach he says he learned from Nir Eyal. He aims for around 90 percent compliance rather than perfect adherence, and tells readers to box in breaks as well as work.
Source: The Curiosity Chronicle: Timeboxing, Daring Mighty Things, & More - Shane ParrishDoes it
Writer · Farnam Street and The Knowledge Project
Plans the next day before bed, picking out the two or three projects that matter most and writing the schedule around them. Scheduling is what keeps him deciding where the hours go.
Source: My Morning Routine interview - Greg McKeownRecommends
Author · Essentialism
Write the six most important activities for tomorrow, cross off the bottom five, and give what survives a ninety minute window first thing. His supporting point is that priority stayed a singular word for five hundred years before anyone pluralized it.
Source: gregmckeown.com: How To Simplify Your Life In 5 Minutes A Day - James ClearRecommends
Author · Atomic Habits
Scheduling the work beats listing it, he suggests, because a task without a slot rarely happens.
Source: 3-2-1 newsletter
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