Time Blocking Strategies for a Stress-Free Joy Filled Life

Gain control over your hectic schedule and reduce anxiety with time blocking. Join me, Kristi Falany, as I share my journey mastering this productivity technique. Learn how dedicating specific time blocks to tasks has brought joy back to my daily life. Whether you're overwhelmed or just want to optimize your routine, find practical tips to harness your time's full potential.

Discover how time blocking can improve work-life balance, time awareness, and help you identify time wasters. We'll explore how this method brings structure to your day, reduces stress, and enhances long-term planning and goal-setting. For high achievers, time blocking boosts accountability, discipline, and task completion. Its flexibility makes it adaptable for anyone seeking an efficient and balanced schedule.

I'll also share my toolkit, including a 90-day planner and the importance of regular schedule reviews. My planner, with designated time slots and additional tools, enhances daily joy and commitment to personal goals. If you feel overwhelmed or procrastinate often, this episode is a must-listen. Plus, don't miss our "Summer Of You" series to boost self-discovery and self-worth. Join me on this journey to take control of your time and transform your productivity.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, do you want to know one of the top reasons that my clients come to me? They tell me that they feel overwhelmed with their schedule. They have too many things in the day and not enough time. Does this sound like you? This is the perfect episode for you. Hi, I am Christy Ballard-Fellaini. I am a certified life coach who found herself at 42, freshly divorced, kids off to college and having never dated in my adult life, I was starting in the middle. If you haven't yet hit start on your middle time in life, let's do it together. Let the journey begin. Hello, hello my friends, welcome back to the podcast. If you are just now finding this podcast, where in the world have you been? But if we have not yet properly been introduced, my name is Christy Fellaini and I am a certified life coach.

Speaker 1: 1:15

I love helping women who feel like they are just existing in their lives and, yes, these women come to me and tell me Christy, I feel so overwhelmed. I feel like there is just not enough time in the day. I struggle with keeping up with my calendar. I struggle with keeping up with all of the tasks that I have to do on the daily. This is just one of the reasons that my clients come to me. My clients also tell me that they struggle with making decisions, powerful decisions around lifestyle changes. So things like empty nest, women who are going through a divorce, women who are just no longer satisfied in their marriages, and even who are no longer satisfied in their careers. Together, we navigate all of these things. I also help them to create more connection inside of their relationships and the relationships that they want to create in their lives and, lastly, I help them to rediscover their joy. Now, all of these things center around their daily schedule, right? Because if you are feeling overwhelmed in your everyday life, then of course you're going to struggle to make those powerful decisions. When lifestyle changes come around, of course your relationships are going to struggle, and if your schedule is out of control, then absolutely you are going to struggle to find joy. So if this sounds like you, you have come across the perfect episode.

Speaker 1: 3:14

So today I want to talk to you about the concept of time blocking. So this is exactly what I teach my clients to help them feel like they are on top of their schedule, to help them to feel more productive in their everyday life, to help them feel like they have control of where it is that their time is going. So time blocking, I personally feel, has helped me immensely. It has helped me to feel like I have more control over my own productivity. It has totally helped me, as an entrepreneur, to cut back on the anxiousness and the feeling of overwhelm the feeling like I'm not getting all of the things accomplished that I truly wanted to. It has given me my time back.

Speaker 1: 4:23

So today I'm going to talk to you about eight reasons and how-tos of why utilizing time blocking throughout your day, I think, is the most important thing that you can do to regain your joy, to take control back over your time and to definitely help you to feel less anxious. So time blocking is one of the tools that I utilized when I created my 90-day planner my 90-day planner. Earlier this year, I rolled out my brand new 90-day planner. I have several clients who have been using it over the last three months to become more productive and to create what it is that they want in their lives, and so time blocking is just one tool that you will find inside my 90-day planner.

Speaker 1: 5:29

Now, time blocking is not anything new. You may have heard about it before, you may be utilizing it and, hopefully, if you are today through this episode, you're going to hear something new. You're going to hear a new reason as to why this can benefit you. Or maybe you're utilizing it a little bit differently and the ideas you hear today will kind of help you tweak how you are already using it in your daily routine. So, again, with this time blocking, you can utilize this with any planner. You can grab a blank sheet of notebook paper to help you plan out your day and use time blocking, but what I know is that it has helped me to stop beating myself up over not getting things done because I feel too overwhelmed with my daily schedule. So are you ready, are you ready to dive in to see how time blocking can help you to become more productive in your day? Because I just truly believe that time blocking can help you to become highly effective. If you are someone who struggles with time management, okay. So here we go.

Speaker 1: 6:56

Number one utilizing time blocking can help you increase focus and productivity, okay. So what you do is you dedicate times in your day for each task, you allocate specific blocks of time for specific tasks and you focus solely on that one task, without distractions. This is gonna lead you to a higher level of productivity. So what this encourages you to do is block out specific times for single tasks, which is proven to be way more effective than multitasking, and I promise you. I know that we sometimes tend to look at multitasking as being our super productivity tool, but I seriously want you to think about that. When you are multitasking, what happens is you are trying to spread your time over several different tasks at a time, and so I want you to think about when you time block and you time block just one single item and you focus solely on that one thing. It encourages you to give your focus to that one thing, give your hundred percent to that one thing, rather than trying to do multiple things at one time and not being able to give complete focus to each thing. So the first reason why I believe time blocking is so important is it because it helps you to increase your focus and helps you to increase your productivity, all right.

Speaker 1: 8:49

Number two, it helps you with a better work-life balance, because when you time block each one of your daily tasks, it helps you to prioritize personal time. You can block out time for personal activities. You can block out time for self-care. It ensures that you are maintaining a healthier work-life balance. It also helps you to stop over committing, because when you have specific times on your calendar and you can physically see where you have open spaces, you can also see where you have over committed. So time blocking helps you to visualize your schedule, making it easier to say no to activities that don't fit in, which also helps prevent burnout. Okay, number three it helps with enhanced time awareness. Okay, so it helps keep a realistic view of your schedule. It allows you to see how much time you actually have, helping you to plan more realistically, and it helps you to avoid overloading your day. Okay, it also helps you to identify time wasters, because once you get into the routine of blocking out your time, it's going to become easy for you to start tracking your time so you can identify and you can eliminate activities that waste time. So if you don't have time on your calendar to scroll through social media, then you don't have that time available. So I promise you it makes your schedule way more efficient.

Speaker 1: 10:57

Okay, number four reduced stress and overwhelm. Time blocking gives you a clear structure, and having a clear plan for your day can help you to reduce stress, the stress that you probably feel when you're thinking okay, what do I have to do next? What is the next thing on my list, which is particularly beneficial during busy seasons, because oftentimes what happens is that if we don't have our time blocked out for that specific task and we're overwhelmed because we are too busy, it's more than likely that some of the tasks are going to get forgotten. It also gives you a perfect opportunity during those busy seasons to schedule in breaks and rest, because these are just as important as all of the other tasks on your schedule. So time blocking includes scheduling breaks, which are crucial for maintaining your energy levels and, again, from preventing burnout.

Speaker 1: 12:14

Number five time blocking is so extremely helpful to improve your long-term planning. To improve your long-term planning. So if you are anything like me and you plan out and set specific goals for yourself, I do a yearly goal and then, with my 90-day planner, I break it into quarters and my 90-day planner fits exactly into those quarters. So when I'm thinking about my goal setting, I like to chunk it into shorter amount of time, and time blocking helps me to know exactly where I am at and where I am going with my goal setting, because what I can do is I can allocate time for both short-term tasks and long-term goals. This ensures my consistent progress on my most important projects. It also offers me the flexibility because when I notice that something might be taking a little bit longer than the time that I allocated for it, I have the flexibility to move it around. And so what I do is I regularly review and adjust my time blocks. Being able to do this helps me to adapt to changing priorities, and it helps me to adapt when unexpected events arise, because you know that that happens. You know that you can sit down in the morning as part of your morning regular routine. You can map out your day and at lunchtime something pops up right. Or you can plan out your week, knowing exactly what you have going on that week, and something pops up. So utilizing this time blocking method can help you to be more flexible in your schedule.

Speaker 1: 14:23

Number six of this one is for my high achievers. Okay, number six is all about boosting your accountability and your discipline, and that is one of the things that I hear from with my clients is is that they think they've got their day all mapped out, and maybe part of that is running to the store to pick up groceries, and then they get sidetracked. They remember that, oh, they need to go and take care of this, and then they need to go and take care of that, and then the next thing you know your entire schedule that day is kind of thrown out the window. And so when you are utilizing the time blocking method, it helps you to stay accountable to what you have said, that you've done. It helps you to stay disciplined in utilizing those specific time frames to get your tasks done, because when you allow those other things to pop into your schedule, that may cause you to take more time than what you had originally predicted. That is where your day gets all off kilter, okay.

Speaker 1: 15:48

So doing the time blocking method helps you stay committed to your schedule. It helps you create a sense of commitment to yourself and to your planned tasks. It increases the likelihood that you're going to follow through with what it is that you said you would do. It also helps you to track your progress. I know for me, when I have completed a task that I have in my time block, I put a check mark by it. A lot of times I put a smiley face by it and I'll write myself a note hey, great job. Awesome that you accomplished that, okay, and so it helps you to keep track of the progress of your day. So it provides a framework for tracking progress and reflecting on how you spend your time. I am sure that you are just like me, just like other women that I know of that. At the end of the day, we have that sinking feeling of where did the day go? And so using the time blocking method helps you to know exactly where the day went and what you worked on and what you accomplished. The day went and what you worked on and what you accomplished, and once you start utilizing it and you start doing those check marks those smiley faces reading back those notes it helps you to stay motivated to completing the tasks that you said that you wanted to do and it helps you to stay on track.

Speaker 1: 17:30

Okay, number seven customizing this to fit your needs, because one through six, if you are not used to time blocking, can sound a little bit strenuous, okay, can sound a little bit overwhelming, but what I want to encourage you is that you can totally customize this to your needs and your desires. I know for me, I don't like to do a whole lot in my business on Fridays. That's the beauty of owning your own business is that you get to decide exactly what you want your schedule to look like, and so oftentimes, when I get to my Friday time blocks, there might be one or two things on there, because those are the things that I say that I want to get done that day. I'm customizing it to how I want my day to look, and so when I look at that, I'm able to see the things that I'm telling myself. These are non-negotiables. And then I'm also able to see the times that I have open the time that is available for me to go sit out in my backyard and read a book or throw the ball back and forth with Frank, or the times that I can set aside that I do just want to veg out on the couch and watch TV. I've also heard my clients say that they don't use the time blocking method on Saturday and Sunday because they don't want the rigid structure. So I get it and I encourage you structure, so I get it and I encourage you customize this to fit your needs, personalize your own schedule.

Speaker 1: 19:37

You can tailor your time blocks to fit your unique lifestyle, whether it's blocking out the mornings to exercise or in the evenings for family time, and adapt to changes. I once had a coach tell me that when she utilizes time blocking, if she notices that she moves an item four times, if she moves something that she scheduled, say, on Monday, and she didn't get to it, so it moved to Tuesday, then it moved to Wednesday, down the line, if she moved it four times, it must not be that important to accomplish, it must not be that important to get done, so throw it out the window. Okay, you can totally do this. You get to decide how you want to adapt to changes in your schedule, adapt to changes in what you said you wanted to complete, adapt to the desires that maybe you had earlier in the week that just weren't all that important. At the end of the week, your schedule can be adjusted as needed, allowing for the flexibility that you want in your life, while maintaining structure. Okay, so don't let this overwhelm you. Structure, okay, so don't let this overwhelm you. Let it be a tool that frees you, that helps you to feel accomplished, that helps you to feel organized and structured. All right.

Speaker 1: 21:22

So, number eight time blocking helps promote mindfulness and intentionality. So all time blocking really is is purposeful planning. It's deciding in advance how to spend your time Utilizing this tool, you bring way more intention to your daily activities. Also, once you get really really used to utilizing this as a tool, you're able to make mindful transitions. So, rather than running and chasing down that squirrel of a thought, thinking, oh, I need to go do this or I need to go do that, you can be more mindful with the transitions that you want to make in your schedule. It helps you to create smooth transitions between different types of activity. It reduces the mental load of switching gears.

Speaker 1: 22:27

All right, so I just want to recap real quick as to the eight different reasons why I just totally believe that time blocking can be a game changer for you, of how utilizing this tool really and truly can set you free from the struggle of either not completing the tasks that you want to get done or ending your day thinking where in the heck did my day go? Okay, so, number one increased focus and productivity. Number two better work-life balance. Number three work-life balance. Number three enhanced time awareness. Number four reduced stress and overwhelm. Number five improved long-term planning. Number seven customization to fit your needs. And number eight it helps promote mindfulness and intentionality.

Speaker 1: 23:39

So I'm just going to give you a short idea of how I utilize this in my own planner. So time blocking is a very important part of my morning routine because it helps me to decide the things that I want to accomplish that day, the appointments that are non-negotiable and again, the time that I want to block, just for me, for self-care. So every morning I open up my 90-day planner and I open up my Google calendar on my phone, because that is where I store my appointments and non-negotiables, so I first place those in the designated time slot inside my planner. The next thing that goes in my time blocking time slots are the tasks that I have specifically assigned in my business for those days. I have specific days that I send out emails, I have specific days that I sit and record podcasts, and so those specific things are blocked into the open time space. Along with those non-negotiables are my client calls, the specific times that I meet with my clients on that particular day. Once I have all of these times jotted in on my daily planner, now I can start to see where I have open space and now I can start to see where I have time to do with what I want to do with it so I can choose the best time for me to fit in exercise. I can choose the best time for me to fit in professional development. I can choose the best time for me to sit down and veg out with a good book.

Speaker 1: 25:40

Now, remember, you don't want to get into the trap of overbooking your day. So if time blocking is completely new to you, you're going to want to play around with it for a couple of days and just kind of see how it feels to stay committed to the times that you have placed those specific tasks. And the cool thing about it is that something magical is going to happen in your brain where you see that you've placed a specific task during a specific time block. What's going to happen is your brain is going to automatically think oh, we need to get that task done during that time frame, so no longer will one specific task Take an exuberant amount of time. Truly fascinating what happens when we start to become disciplined with our time and our brain starts to catch on with that discipline. All right.

Speaker 1: 26:47

So the last thing that I want to leave you with, because I truly want this tool to be an effective tool that you will utilize, an effective tool that you can start implementing in your life, to again start taking control back of your time. Start taking the overwhelm that you may be feeling of overloading your day. So if time blocking is new to you, I encourage you again, give it a try and give it some time. But to make this most effective for you, the tips that I would give you is definitely to start small. Begin by blocking a few hours a day and then gradually increase as you become more comfortable. Remember that the idea is to not overload your schedule. But when you start small and then you start gradually increasing the blocks of time that you put on your schedule, it's going to become more manageable for you and you're going to feel more successful with it. So start small.

Speaker 1: 28:03

Remember, at the beginning of the podcast, I told you you can simply do this each morning for yourself on a blank sheet of paper. Having tools to help you utilize this can be beneficial as well. So maybe that looks like using a planner. Maybe it looks like using a time blocking app or any type of digital calendar. Remember that I mentioned that I use my time blocking with my 90 day planner, as well as placing important appointments inside my Google calendar. I utilize the two together, but I want to encourage you to just get started. You don't have to utilize any type of fancy tool. You can do it on notebook paper, you can do it in the notes section of the planner that you're already utilizing, or you can also look into purchasing one of my 90-day planners. But just start utilizing it.

Speaker 1: 29:05

And the last tip that I want to give you is to review it regularly. So periodically, review and adjust your schedule throughout the day and throughout the week. Doing so helps you to align your goals and your priorities, both your short-term goals as well as your long-term goals. You guys, I just wanted to bring this to you today because I just firmly believe that time blocking can be such a powerful tool to help you to manage your time more effectively. Managing your time is going to lead to a more balanced, productive and fulfilling life. So, as I mentioned, I wanted to bring this to you today because this is one of the areas that I hear from my clients over and over again that they are struggling with. So it's so important to me to help women to feel more organized in their day-to-day life and being one of the biggest reasons that I created my own 90-day planner.

Speaker 1: 30:16

Inside my 90-day planner there are so many other features that are going to help you feel balanced in your life. It's going to help you to stay committed to your daily scripture routine. It's also going to boost your joy by starting your morning with scripture, gratitude and space for you to time block out your day and, as I mentioned, you can use time blocking with any planner. The way that I have mine set up in my 90-day planner is designated time slots starting at 5 am and ending your day at 9 pm. The beauty of this is that when I place my tasks and appointments in their proper time slot, I can physically see the white space that is open. So if I haven't yet put in me time on my daily calendar, those white spaces is where I know that I've got open time for me to do what it is that I want to do, and those are the time slots that I can add in my self-care. All right, so I am sure that you can now see the benefits of time blocking, and I'll bet you know someone who needs this tool, who needs to hear this podcast.

Speaker 1: 31:43

I'm thinking it's that friend that's always running behind that sister who shows up to every family function about 15 to 20 minutes late, or that super overwhelmed entrepreneur who struggles when they wake up every morning, knowing that they've got a lot on their plate but doesn't know where they're going to start, and so inevitably what happens is specific tasks get left behind or specific tasks get forgotten. The reason that I know this is because that used to be me. I would get up each morning thinking of all the things that I wanted to accomplish that day, and then I would start to feel overwhelmed and I would get stuck in freeze mode. Or I would have specific things that I wanted to accomplish that maybe I didn't want to do that day, maybe it was something that I didn't feel excited around but knew it needed to get done, and so inevitably I would procrastinate. But when I put those items on my schedule in a specific time block, I'm committing to myself that I'm going to get it done, and I'm going to get it done in a specific manner.

Speaker 1: 33:08

So if you know someone who could benefit from the use of time blocking, please share this episode with them. Share this message with all the people that you can think of that feel overwhelmed in their day-to-day tasks. Also, if you're interested in purchasing my 90-day planner or you just wanna talk more about it and see if it's something that would fit in to help you feel more successful in your day. I'm going to drop a link inside the show notes. You can also reach out to me through email to ask specific questions. And don't forget forget starting this summer.

Speaker 1: 34:03

We are doing the summer of you. If you have not yet seen what the summer of you is all about, I'm going to drop a link inside the show notes for you to click on, but I'll tell you real quick the things that we are going to be talking about this summer In June, tapping into who you were meant to be, so discovering your true self and embracing your unique journey. July, self-worth versus self-confidence. Sometimes we get confused with the difference, so you're going to learn to differentiate between the two. You're going to learn how to elevate both of these to help you have a more balanced life. And then in August, we're rounding this summer of you out by uncovering your purpose.

Speaker 1: 34:55

I'm going to help you find your passion. I'm gonna help you find your passion. I'm gonna help you set a clear path to the goals that you want to create in your life. So lots of stuff I threw at you inside this episode. Again, I will place some links inside the show notes if there's more that you wanna cover, if you have questions and until next time. You guys have an amazing week. Who is your life coach? I would love the opportunity to work with you as you are rediscovering the woman you were meant to be. Visit christyballardfelainicom for more information on how we can work together to ignite that passionate, enthusiastic woman who may have been tucked away for some time. Let's start in the middle together. Thank you.