7 Overlooked Time Blocks to Include in Your Daily Schedule

Time blocking is a powerful strategy, especially for people with ADHD. Among other things, implementing time blocking can help you stay organized and focused in your tasks and help you get more done.

So far in this series, we’ve covered what time blocking is, its many benefits, and the basic elements of effective time blocking.

The Game of Time Blocking

Once you have your essential elements in place, you are ready to start playing the game of planning your schedule.

This is where the game of sustainable productivity is won or lost. Many people lose at this stage because they fail to account for crucial chunks of time when planning their schedules.

Planning your time blocks is like playing a video games with hidden minefields and tripwires. Failing to see these obstacles can lead to your whole day “blowing up” or going off the rails.

To keep your day on track, you want to include these 7 essential, yet overlooked, time blocks.

7 Essential — Yet Overlooked — Time Blocks to Include in Your Daily Schedule

(1) Travel Time

In the game of time blocking, this is the landmine that takes out the most people.

Unless you never leave your house, you will need to change location at least twice. That means you need to account for travel time.

When it comes to travel time many people fail by considering only the time it takes to get from point A to point B.

They fail to account for the ancillary aspects of travel time.

These overlooked parts of travel time include:

• getting in and out of the car
• looking for parking
• stalled in traffic
• waiting for elevators, subways, valets, or other people
• putting on/removing your coat and shoes
• packing/unpacking your bag
• setting up/settling in at your new location

Each might be small on its own, but they can add up to a lot of time that sends your day veering off course.

(2) Transition Time

Even if you’re not traveling or commuting to a different location, you still need time to shift gears between tasks.

This is especially important for people with ADHD, who often need a longer transition time.

Transition time includes the time it takes to

• shift gears between tasks
• set up for a task
• clean up from a task
• settle in and direct your focus

Studies show it takes us 20 minutes to regain focus after a 2-minute interruption. That’s transition time.

For example, if you eat lunch at home, even if you have done meal prep, you’ll need time to get your lunch out before you eat and clean up after lunch.

(3) Buffer Time

Whereas transition time is time allocated to shifting gears between tasks or appointments, buffer time is time added to the end of task, as an addendum to the time block.

Buffer time is especially important after meetings, appointments, classes, and calls.

Depending on the task, buffer time can be as short as just a few minutes.

Buffer time serves two important functions:

(1) Buffer time gives you space to record and process key insights or action items that emerged from the activity before you forget them. If a call or meeting was worth investing your time or energy, then it’s worth spending a few minutes to record your notes.

(2) Buffer time can keep the rest of your day from going off the rails when a call or meeting runs longer than expected.

(4) Catch-up Time

Catch-up time is a time block designed for handling overflow from previous time blocks, follow up actions, or other things that arose during the day that you didn’t anticipate.

Inevitably, you will have days when you failed to allocate enough time in a given time block. Also, inevitably life serves up things that you didn’t or couldn’t plan for. This is especially true for real estate agents or other people who work in client-demand service roles. You never know when a new lead will pop up.

Catch-up time is your time block to handle those things.

(5) Body/Mind Breaks

Newsflash: you are a human being, not a machine. And even machines need to be cycled off at times.

That brain you use to do your work is attached to a body. Both the body and the brain are part of a coherent system that works effectively only if all parts are functioning optimally.

The body needs movement, food, water, and rest. The brain needs time to cycle off intense focus. The mind needs to wander, space out, and reset.

The nervous system needs time to reset and regulate.

Even if you start every day with a workout (as I do), that’s just a baseline. A morning workout doesn’t mean you can go the rest of the day without movement.

If you want to maximize your focus and function during your work time blocks, your day must also include body/mind breaks for your basic biological and cognitive needs.

(6) Connection Time

Connection time is time allocated to connecting with yourself, other humans, and nature.

Humans are wired to need connection; it is an essential fuel for our systems.

Two of the biggest obstacles to productivity are physical pain and loneliness; connection alleviates both.

In addition, conversations with others — whether it’s a dear friend, gym buddy, your kids, or a stranger at the local coffee shop — can spark new ideas and creative insights that give you new perspective on your work.

(7) Daily Review and Prep Time

No system is perfect. We often overestimate what we can realistically accomplish in a day. Most people just transfer their uncompleted tasks to the next day, and the next, and so on.

The daily review and prep time is a dedicated time to take stock of what you accomplished and assess why you didn’t do what you didn’t do.

This will help you create a better strategy for actually doing it. This is also a time to ensure you have the resources you’ll need for the tasks planned for upcoming time blocks.

Daily review and prep time can help you prevent things from falling through the cracks and set yourself up for future success. It can also serve as a ritual for transitioning away from your work.

The Key to Realistic Scheduling

Remembering to include these 7 essential time blocks will force you to be more realistic about what you can accomplish so you don’t over commit yourself or burn out.