If you are looking for time blocking strategies for mom founders,  you have come to the right place.

The first piece of advice I have is do not time block, instead goal block.  

You may have heard of “time blocking” (e.g., from 7 AM – 8 AM I do ABC, from 8 AM – 9 AM I do XYZ, etc.) (also called “time boxing”).

“Goal blocking” is similar to time boxing in that time is set aside to complete a specific task or activity – but it is also a shift in perception. The focus is on the activity rather than the time itself. As an example, instead of saying “I will run for 40 minutes” I say “I will run five miles. It should take me about 40 minutes but if it takes shorter or longer, so be it. I will not stop until it is done.” 

It is about doing things well and not just getting them done quickly.

This is, I find, the absolute biggest advantage of goal blocking.

It allows me to not focus on time passing but focus on actually accomplishing my goal. This is a huge shift in perspective and has truly changed the way I approach tasks.

EXAMPLES:

As an example, for 25 years of my life (from when I was 13 to 38) when I would go running, I used to focus on the amount of time I ran for each day. Most days I would run 30-40 minutes. I never really prioritized speed. Just getting the run over with. Then, several months ago I started “goal blocking” rather than time blocking. This had some major effects. First, when I run, I do not focus on how long I run for. Instead, focus on how many miles I run. For example, I make a goal to run between 6-10 miles most mornings. Because my focus is on distance, I naturally try to run faster (to get my run over with!). As silly as it sounds, this has significantly increased my pace. I have gone from an 8:30-9:00 min per mile pace to a 7:30-8:00 min per mile pace over the period of several months.

Of course, I have a concept of how long this takes me and I block off time to complete my goal. So while I am “time blocking” in some sense, focusing on the goal is much more productive.

A similar example, when looking to accomplish a writing goal, in the past, I may have said “write for 30 minutes a day.” Now I am to write about 500 words per day. That way, I am not sitting here staring out the window, fidgeting, waiting for 30 minutes to pass. Instead, I am focused on my goal of writing 500 quality words so I can confidently check that off my list for the day. This is the difference between focusing on time versus focusing on accomplishing the goal.  

I have found goal blocking so effective that I do not just goal block my work day, I goal block every hour of every day.

Here are the advantages of goal blocking:

I do not have to think about what I am doing all the time.

I spend about an hour a week planning my day. That way, I don’t spend 30 minutes every morning thinking about what I will do that day. It is already basically planned with the things I truly value.  

Good habits are built in.

I don’t think about whether or not I should exercise—it already has an hour-long spot on the calendar each day! I just do it. 

Bad habits can be avoided.

I love a glass of wine at night and used to have a glass of wine almost every night. But now, in an effort to be healthier, I aim to have only about two glasses a week. So generally, I do not drink over the week. By having my evenings planned—with baths, piano practice, laundry, and taking care of the baby, an occasional game night with the kids—I don’t even think about having a glass of wine. There simply is not time! Especially if I am getting up at 4:30 the next morning to run.

Goal blocking helps me spend time on what matters.

If I say “I value family” but am working all day and night, my priorities are not matching how I am spending my time. By consciously thinking about how I want to spend my days and weeks, I can make sure I am spending them in the most meaningful ways rather than having regrets later. On the contrary, I consider how I may spend a day if I did not goal block. I’d do what seemed most “urgent” at the time (usually—okay, definitely—something work-related). For example, I’d probably check my emails at night. I’d be on social media, looking for distractions. Some things would fall through the cracks.  

It keeps me accountable.

If I make my activities public on my work calendar (highly recommend) then others can see what I am doing. It is a record of what I expect myself to do each day. They see a packed schedule. This also lets them know when a good time to reach out is if they need something. And I hold myself up to these expectations better. I feel strange answering slack messages at a time when it is not budgeted for on my work calendar! 

Having your goals–and their associated time blocks–written down is a great way to avoid falling into the trap of “feeling” (but not actually being) productive.

I can be strategic about when I complete tasks.

Goal blocking allows me to reflect when I do my best work. For example, I dislike reaching out to leads. Well the best way to make sure I meet my goal of reaching out to leads is to reach out to them sometime before 2:00 PM. If I wait until after 2:00, my energy will be depleted and the task is harder to get through and feels more arduous. So now, I make a recurring task in my calendar to reach out to five potential leads from 12 – 1 twice per week. It is recurring. I don’t have to think about it. And it is at a time when I am likely to feel energized to do it.

But isn’t this so rigid?

The biggest criticism of goal blocking is it is rigid. But it really is not. How so?

• First, not every specific thing is planned to a tee. Sometimes I just put in time to be with my kids however they want. I don’t have the time meticulously planned out, but I am planning how you want to spend your time generally.
• Second, if you keep in mind that goal blocking is meant to serve us, not the other way around, you can act in this spirit throughout the day. As an example, if I am working on something at work and really find myself in the “zone”—but I have only blocked off an hour for it—I will simply continue working on it if it makes sense and move around the other tasks allocated for the block of time.
• Goal blocking also helps me focus on one thing. Let’s say I have it blocked in my calendar to play a game with my kids. When I do that, I only do that. I do not check emails. I do not think about what I need to get ready for them the next day at school. I don’t do any of that because I know it is already taken care of or will be taken care of. So while some may see it as constricting, I see it as giving me the freedom to enjoy the present moment.

In Part I of time blocking strategies for mom founders, we’ve covered why to not time block but instead goal block. In Part II, we’ll talk about how to goal block.