The default state of a startup founder is reactive. You wake up to a flooded inbox. Slack notifications are pinging. Customers are calling. By the time you look up, it is 5:00 PM, and while you have been busy all day, you have not actually accomplished the one major strategic task you needed to finish. This is the chaos that Time Blocking solves.
Time Blocking is a time management method that asks you to divide your day into blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task or group of tasks, and only those tasks.
Instead of keeping an open ended to do list of things you hope to get done, you start each day with a concrete schedule of what you will do and exactly when you will do it. It forces you to treat your time with the same rigor that you treat your budget.
The Failure of To-Do Lists
#Most people operate off a to do list. The problem with a to do list is that it is infinite. You can write down fifty tasks, but you only have eight hours. This disconnect creates anxiety. You look at the list and feel overwhelmed before you even start.
Time blocking introduces the constraint of reality. When you have to slot a task into a specific window on your calendar, you are forced to acknowledge how long things actually take.
It turns an intention into a commitment. A to do list says “I should write that investor update.” A time block says “I will write that investor update from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM.”
For founders, the most critical application of time blocking is protecting Deep Work. This is the cognitively demanding work like coding, designing, or writing strategy that requires sustained focus.
Shallow work is the logistical maintenance of the business, like email and meetings. If you do not block time for deep work, shallow work will expand to fill your entire day like a gas.
Founders should block their most creative hours, usually the morning, for deep work. During this block, you do not check email. You do not answer the phone. You treat it as a meeting with yourself that cannot be cancelled.
The Cost of Context Switching
#Science tells us that multitasking is a myth. When you switch from writing code to answering a text message, your brain has to unload one context and load another. This is called context switching.
Every time you switch contexts, you pay a tax in mental energy. It can take twenty minutes to regain full focus after an interruption.
Time blocking minimizes this tax by grouping similar tasks. You block an hour for email and do it all at once. This is batching. By processing all your communications in one block, you protect the rest of the day from the constant cognitive drain of checking your inbox.
Managing the Chaos
#A common criticism is that startups are too unpredictable for schedules. Fires happen. Servers crash.
The solution is to block time for the chaos. Add a “Reactive Block” or “Buffer Time” to your calendar every afternoon. This is a designated time to handle the unexpected issues that popped up during the day.
If you do not schedule time for the unexpected, the unexpected will consume your schedule. By giving the chaos a home on your calendar, you contain it.