Is Your Weekly Schedule Realistic?

Earlier this week a business colleague (& friend) was telling me how she is trying “time blocking” to better manage her tasks and activities. Time blocking is exactly as it sounds – certain periods of time and / or days of the week are devoted to specific activities. She had gotten the idea from a blog post she had read of an internationally-known marketing guru and business consultant.

I wanted to find the post and see for myself what he had to say. I easily found it and viewed the spreadsheet of his sample weekly schedule.

Let’s just say one more time (!) that the “runway does not equal reality”….Is it just expected that when one becomes an “expert” they lose any sense of living in the real world? That’s where I live and that’s where my clients live!

Three things about his schedule jumped out at me immediately:

1. In his blog he writes about the importance of having dinner with his wife every night. Of course that’s wonderful. There was nothing in his schedule for “Dinner Prep,” or “Dinner Clean-up.” Wouldn’t it be terrific if a healthy dinner just appeared and we walked to the table, sat down and enjoyed it with the ones we love the most. And then, the kitchen cleaned itself?!
2. One hour – you read that right – one hour on Saturday was devoted to “Household Chores.” I chuckled.
3. I saw nothing in his 7-day schedule allotting for LIFE MANAGEMENT  – laundry, yard work, car maintenance or errands.

The bottom line? While I absolutely advocate time blocking (especially using paper calendars!) – it must be realistic and capture your necessary tasks. Otherwise, overwhelm and frustration from unmet expectations easily take root.

The results of my friend time blocking her week? She reports an increased energy, less “feeling frazzled” and a stronger sense of purpose to approach each day. One certainly can’t argue with those results. I call them successful!

Question: Do you currently use a system to block your time? Do you think it could help you better manage life?