When people hear the phrase time blocking, they usually picture rigid, hour-by-hour schedules that must be followed perfectly. But what if time blocking didn’t have to be strict? What if we used flexible time blocking instead?
Before you raise an eyebrow—hear me out.
Strict Time Blocking Is for Busy Seasons
There are seasons of life when strict time blocking is incredibly helpful. During my busiest periods, I created tight schedules for myself. For example, I used to schedule podcast recording every Wednesday from 10–11 a.m.—and I forced myself to follow it.
This discipline helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. But there was always a limit. Eventually, strict time blocking left me burned out. I realized I couldn’t run my entire life on rigid rules forever.
I began searching for a way to stay productive without draining myself. That’s how I came up with a different approach: flexible time blocking.
Flexible time blocking is for regular seasons of life
When I do my planning sessions on Friday, I look at my sprint goals, upcoming appointments and other urgent tasks that I want to get done.
I start with the most important tasks and go down the list. I start plugging these tasks into my calendar. At the same time, I have clear boundaries for when my day starts and for when it ends.
I don’t like to schedule anything before breakfast. I only schedule home tasks for my evenings. And even those end at around 8 pm. I like to have a few hours in the evening just for myself and do whatever I want to do during that time.
Like the Sprint Capacity concept, time blocking serves as a boundary—a stop sign, if you will—for you to say, “Hey, I cannot do more stuff on that day.” When you use your calendar to plan your week, you are less likely to overcommit on your tasks. You will simply run out of time slots to book your tasks in.
Flexible Time Blocking Creates Realistic To-Do Lists
With the new approach to time blocking, I would look at my daily calendar and set a manageable to-do list for the day. I already accounted for how much time they will take. When I do these tasks and in what order is irrelevant. I can switch the order. I can spend a little bit more on one task and a little bit less on the other. I give myself the full freedom to do these tasks any way I want. As long as they get done by the end of the day, I’m happy.
Somehow, it made it a lot less serious and gave me a little more freedom to decide what activity I wanted to do at any given point. I have a very finite list of what needs to be done today, but it’s up to me when and how I do it. If I finish earlier, that’s amazing. It means more time for myself.
A Simple Analogy
Flexible time blocking works the same way grocery shopping does. You have a list, but you don’t follow the exact order written on the page. You navigate the store in a way that makes sense in the moment.
The goal is simple:
Finish the list—not follow the list’s order.
This mindset shift helps prevent unrealistic to-do lists and the inevitable guilt that comes from overplanning.
Final Thoughts on Flexible Time Blocking
I look at my time blocking as a helpful boundary for the number of to-do items I can complete in a given day. Without it, I tend to fill my to-do list with more items than I can realistically achieve and then fill bad for not getting it done.
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Read next:
- Time blocking Q&A
- Time blocking reduces stress
- Why long-term planning is not as good as you were taught
- The tremendous cost of pursuing shortcuts
- Mind trick for starting a new habit and building consistency
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