How to Balance Work and Personal Life With Time-Blocking

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Time blocking is a fantastic tool for boosting productivity, but it is also a simple but effective way to balance your professional and personal life.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the increase in remote work, many people have realized that there is more to life than just waking up at 5 am, leaving by 6, and spending the day at the office.

If you’re looking for ways to live a more balanced life, time blocking and a few productivity tips might be all you need to make the changes you are striving for.

In this article, we will discuss how time blocking can help you make room for what truly matters to you and help you live a balanced life.

Let’s dive in!

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Why is Balance Important in Life?

When we think about balance, the first thing that comes to our mind is often work-life balance.

But balance is not just restricted to our professional lives.

To be happy and productive, we must find balance in all aspects of our lives.

Achieving balance in life is not easy, but it’s definitely worth it, as it is the secret to living a fulfilling life.

How Can Time-Blocking Help You Live a More Balanced Life?

Time blocking is a time management method that implies blocking out a specific amount of time for a task or group of tasks.

The idea behind it is that if you know in advance when and for how long you are going to work on something, it becomes easier not to procrastinate.

It is also much easier to ensure you plan time for everything that matters to you and don’t spread yourself too thin.

Time blocking is much easier when using a digital planner such as Google Calendar (or any other planner you can access digitally on all your devices).

Another great advantage of digital planners such as Google Calendars is that you can schedule blocks to be repeated automatically, set reminders, and create different calendars based on activities (more on that later).

If you have read a few of my posts on productivity and time management, you already know that what matters is finding what works for you when it comes to productivity.

If you feel more comfortable with a pen and paper planner, go for it! You’re good to go if you find what works best for you!

Related read: How To Organize Your Entire Life With Google Calendar

The Benefits of Time-Blocking

Time blocking has many benefits.

First of all, this simple method ensures you plan your days more effectively and do not forget any important tasks.

It is also great at identifying bad habits.

I used to think I did not have enough time to complete all my tasks until I realized how much time I used to waste watching TV or using my phone.

When I started to time block, I realized that by optimizing my time (studying or reading emails while commuting, reading notes between classes, etc), I would be able to save several hours per day.

Time blocking is an amazing method to identify time wasted between tasks and find how to use it wisely.

And this, my friend, will make all the difference in increasing your productivity, which is also key to finding balance in life.

If you time block effectively, you can get ahead of your schedule, and this is one of my favorite things about this method!

When I am super focused and productive, I am able to accomplish tasks sometimes days in advance.

I can then use that time to plan other tasks on that day or… just chill.

Finally, time blocking is an amazing way to have an overview of your schedules and know exactly what you are up to.

How to Use Time-Blocking to Find Balance in Life

1. Find the Right Tool

Time blocking for the first time can be overwhelming. You will first have to find the perfect app/website if you decide to do it digitally or the best paper planner if you decide to go the old-fashioned way.

I have tried a lot of apps during my 4-year curriculum at university. Some of them were free, and others required a subscription.

Still, despite trying almost every app on the market, I returned to Google Calendar last year and do not regret it.

First of all, the app is free, which is essential, especially for students who must be careful with their expenses.

But this is not why I decided to return to Google Calendar.

The app is simply the best digital calendar for me. You can synchronize it with all your devices and add unlimited calendars.

You can also define cute color hex codes to make it look nice. These functionalities will be important for organizing your life with time blocks.

2. Define Why You Need More Balance in Your Life

This step should be one of the firsts you consider when starting to time block.

I started time blocking to ensure I would stay focused on important tasks while also spending time with my friends and working on personal projects.

My priority was to work smarter to make time for things that mattered to me.

If you want to have an intentional life and create a life you love, you know that personal development is a non-negotiable thing.

3. Create Your Calendars

This is one of my favorite functionalities in Google Calendar because it allows users to ensure they have a balanced life with color coding.

Create one calendar per important area of your life and define a specific color for this calendar.

In my case, I have 6 different calendars in my Google Calendar app :

• Work (9-5 job)
• Home (home chores, meal prep, etc.)
• Getting Fit (Exercising is definitely one of my priorities this year…)
• Self-care (Skincare, haircare, meditation, reading books, etc)
• SundayRainday
• Breaks (15-20 minutes breaks during the day to stretch, make breathing exercises, and have coffee)

I have defined a cute color hex code for each of these calendars to ensure that the overall result looks nice. Here is one of the palettes I created :

Once your calendars are created, you are ready to start time blocking.

4. Start to Time-Block Your Obligations

This is the easiest way to start.

Think about your obligations, such as work, classes, or any other non-negotiable activities you must consider when creating your schedules.

Starting with these activities will help you figure out how much time you have left to work on personal projects, take care of yourself, and have fun.

Once you have added these blocks (and made them recurrent), you can start planning your days around them.

Of course, your career is important. Still, if you want to work on your personal growth this year, you will need to start focusing on other important aspects of your life supporting your goals.

5. Add Goal-Driven Activities

Successful people define goals and set milestones to ensure they achieve them.

Time blocking will help you in this process.

Think about habits that help you achieve your goals and plan them throughout the week.

These activities can have a huge impact on your personal growth. Hence, you should schedule them when you have the most energy to ensure you actually complete them.

There are 4 different chronotypes, and each chronotype has a different ideal schedule.

Researching your chronotype and adapting your daily schedule accordingly will help you achieve your goals faster.

6. Add Your Morning and Night Routines

If you are interested in time blocking, chances are that you are already familiar with the concept of morning and night routines.

Implementing routines is a simple way to ensure you get things done and work towards your goals.

My morning and night routines have exploded my productivity. If you haven’t implemented your routines yet, you should definitely do it. This is one of the best things you can do to boost your productivity and support your goals.

Once you have defined your routines, add them to your daily schedules and make them recurrent.

7. Plan Some Fun

Now that you have set and planned your top priorities, you can plan some fun activities you will look forward to.

You must spend time with your loved ones to maintain a balanced life.

Spending quality time with your family and friends is essential to ensure you feel supported. This is particularly important to your mental well-being as well.

Even if you are the most goal-driven person you know, you need to set time to unwind to find balance in your life.

This will help you feel less stressed and positively impact your productivity and sleep quality.

8. Plan Your Workouts

Exercise is important to your well-being. If you want to improve your life, you need to take care of your health.

In general, peace of mind and good health are important for staying productive in the long run and achieving goals.

Maintaining good health can only be done by taking care of the mind and body.

There’s no need to plan intense HIIT workouts if you are not sporty.

Going for a long walk is also a great way to take care of your health.

Plus, getting some fresh air will boost your productivity as well. Regardless of your goals, do not forget to include some exercise to take care of your body.

9. Plan Your Meals

Cooking can be a waste of time when you don’t know what to cook.

Planning your meals is a great way to save time and money.

The easiest way to do this is to plan your meals before going grocery shopping.

Knowing exactly what to buy will save you a lot of time and money.

It is also an easy way to ensure you eat healthy foods.

10. Fill in The Gaps With Chores

The last step is planning for all the chores you have to complete daily or weekly.

This refers to cleaning your home, doing the laundry, ironing, making dinner, etc. These tasks are necessary to maintain our spaces but probably do not support your life goals.

Plus, they can take forever to complete.

If you want to be productive, you need to cut off the time spent on these recurring tasks as much as possible.

I love to have a clean home, perfectly ironed clothes, and delicious homemade meals. Still, these activities do not pay the bills, nor do they serve my life goals.

This is why I strive to be as effective as possible when doing these chores, so I have time for everything else.

There is actually a way to do it, and time-blocking helps!

The next time you clean your house, use a timer. Do not rush; do things just as you do as usual, and check how long it takes you to get them done.

When I did this test three years ago, I noticed that it would typically take me five hours to clean and tidy my space, do the laundry, and iron my clothes.

Now you might think that 5 hours in a week is not that much. The issue is that, after 5 hours of cleaning, I would run out of energy and crash on my couch for the rest of the day.

Talk about a day off wasted.

11. Split Unproductive Tasks

To avoid wasting your free time with activities you do not enjoy, split these tasks as much as possible.

Instead of wasting 5 hours every Sunday cleaning around, I have added 20 minutes of cleaning to my morning and night routines.

This simple trick helped me gain one entire day of free time to enjoy every week.

I now spend my Sundays working on my 2 online businesses and spending time with Mother Nature.

I basically switched 20 minutes of social media in the morning and TV in the evening with 20 minutes of cleaning around, and now have my entire Sunday to work on my personal growth.

I let you imagine the impact of such a small change over the years.

12. Review Your Schedules

You now have a pretty good overview of your weeks.

During the first weeks of implementing this method, you will probably have to make some adjustments to find what works best for you.

This is totally fine. Nothing is set in stone.

As an example, here is my Google calendar :

As you can see, my days start with my morning routine (on weekdays only) and end with my night routine at 10 pm.

After creating your recurring events, you can add comments to each block to detail what needs to be done.

I generally add the comments one week before when I plan my week more in-depth.

And when I add my comments, I only change the specific event so the comment doesn’t apply to the entire series of events.

When I start the week on Monday at 6:00 am, my entire week is already planned, and that’s what works best for me.

Time blocking definitely helps me balance my life and make room for things and people that matter to me.

The simple methods also helped me free up all my Saturdays to spend time with friends, which is something I couldn’t do before I started to time block!

What are The Signs of a Balanced Life?

After implementing this method, you might ask yourself if time blocking actually helps you find balance in your life.

A few signs can help you figure out if you have found balance in your life.

If you feel happy and satisfied with what you are doing, then chances are that you have found some balance in your life.

Another sign could be the ability to enjoy your free time without feeling guilty.

This is something I really struggled with in the past.

Feeling guilty as soon as you do something for yourself instead of working or studying is a strong sign that you lack balance.

Additionally, if you can leave work at work, you are on track to finding balance in your life.

Last but not least, if you feel you have enough time for everything important to you, congrats!

You have a well-balanced life!

Final Thoughts

Time blocking is a great method to ensure you achieve balance in life despite your busy schedule.

No matter your goals and priorities, you must ensure you work towards them daily. Gain control over your life and make it happen!

Working on your personal growth on a daily basis will help you have a fulfilling life. This is something all successful people have in common.

Another thing they have in common is that they want to work smarter and not harder.

By gaining control over your time and improving your time management skills, you will be able to make the most out of it with minimum effort.